


The Soulmate Project

by Arisprite



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: F/M, M/M, Sci-Fi AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 15:26:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 36,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4142889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arisprite/pseuds/Arisprite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Fai’s brother is killed, and he is dragged into the resistance movement Yuui had been a part of, his life as a programmer at InfoTech is shattered. Now hidden away in a safe house with one companion, a surly ex-medical student named Kurogane, Fai has to decide to help his former company, run by the only family he has left, or these new rebels. </p>
<p>My entry for the 2015 Kurofai Olympics!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Full notes at the end of the fic.

"You never stop working, do you, little brother?"

Fai looked up briefly, but it was only Yuui, so he turned his eyes back to the lines of code. His fingers flew along the keys, tapping against the touchpad embedded in the top of his desk, and then he adjusted a setting on his info watch, to allow the screen to transfer to sleep mode, instead of edit. The screen above his desk transferred from coding to his screensaver.  
Fai then turned around in his spinning chair, grinning at his brother. 

"We’re the same age, Yuui," Fai said. “Twins, or did you forget?”

Yuui stood in his office doorway, his face pulled into a teasing grin, and his blond flyaway hair, the same as Fai’s, if slightly longer, nearly covered the wire rimmed glasses he wore. They were the only thing that most people could use to tell them apart.

"Still with that? I have a full five minutes on you, I’ll have you know.”

Fai laughed, and then spoke into his watch. “Tell me how old I am, to the second.”

A computerized but nice voice spoke from the speakers in the touchpad desk, since it was synced up with the watch. “Thirty years, one hundred and sixty seven days, twelve hours, fifteen minutes, and thirty seven seconds.” 

Yuui blinked. “You’ve got yours programed to do that?” he asked, amazed looking, and Fai smiled, and reached his hand out. Yuui brought his watch over, the face glinting in the white lights of the office, and the glare from the morning sun through the window. The office was one of the nicer ones, with glass walls and a touchpad desktop computer made of durable fiberglass. He tapped on a few things on the tabletop, and the holographic screensaver vanished so he could sync up Yuui’s watch with his programming platform. He fiddled around with a few things, and then clicked his tongue. 

“How do you keep anything on here, your memory is full up,” he chided. Yuui laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“It’s probably just movies, or dead files or something. I should go through it.” 

Fai blinked, coming upon a few files in a different kind of code. 

“Is this-?” 

Yuui let out a breath. “Do you remember that?” 

Fai gave him a look. “Of course I do. We made up that code, didn’t we? You and I are the only ones who know it, unless you taught it to someone else?” 

“No, just you. It’s nothing though. Just practice. I wondered if I could still remember it.”

Fai hummed, turning his attention back to the task at hand. He tapped a few more things, and then spun back to Yuui. 

“Okay!” 

Yuui lifted his watch to his mouth. “Tell me how old I am, to the second.” 

Fai’s face fell as the numbers rolled out. 

“Thirty years, one hundred and sixty seven days, twelve hours, twenty minutes, and four seconds.” Older by three minutes and eighteen seconds, taking the time that had passed just now into account. 

Yuui pointed at him. “Hah. I am older!” he declared, and then began to examine his Infowatch. “How did you read that?” 

Fai nodded, and spun back to his touchpad desktop, tapping a few things to bring up to a holo screen. 

“It’s part of my project, actually. I spent a few months fine tuning what things the Infowatches could actually read. They’d been able to tell height, muscle mass, bmi, calorie index, heart rate, etc etc, for years. Decades even. But, how precise can we get those measurements, and from there, what can we do with them?”

“And you’ve been trying to answer that? No offense, but did you even go home last night? You look a bit crazy."

Fai blew out a breath, spinning back around, a little maniacally. His twin stood there, with a patronizing smile on his face. Fai stuck his tongue out at him.

“That's mature."

"There’s a cot in Sakura's office. See, I slept."

Yuui leaned on the corner of the desk. "Yeah, really well I'm sure." 

Fai grinned at him. Admittedly, he was a little tired, but the buzz of his project had kept him going for weeks. Well, that and copious amounts of caffeine stimulation from his Infowatch. The wires that threaded from the implant in his right wrist still seemed to be buzzing. 

Fai tapped on his keys, pulling up the specs for his project, and beginning to work on where he’d left off. 

"I'm so close, I really am!" 

Yuui smiled. "You still haven't told me what it is you're even doing."

Fai grinned, shifting a little. "It’s classified, Yuui~" 

"Oh, c'mon, just a peek?" Yuui needled, leaning over the arm of his chair, and Fai shoved him. 

“Well, maybe just a little one.” Fai conceded, dying to show someone. “We’re rolling out the PR materials next week anyway, so just pretend to be surprised, okay?”

Fai tapped his watch, pulling up a larger screen to hang over his desk. He picked a file from his desktop, and slid it over to the player, and then tapped on a few keys. He spoke excitedly while he did so. 

“I’ve been calling it Project Soulmate. Or, maybe The Soulmate Project. Which do you think sounds better?”

Yuui shook his head. “Both equally confusing. What are you actually doing?” 

Fai smiled, and tapped play. A sad sounding piano started. This commercial was one of many that had been approved, but privately this was his favorite. 

It started with a lonely woman being stood up on a date, a man drinking alone at a wedding, a single mother rubbing the lack of a ring on her finger. 

“And, the voiceover starts,” Fai whispered. 

“So many people are alone....are sad...are asking for one thing.”

It panned to the face of the actress they’d hired, smiling pleasantly. 

“Love, understanding, companionship, but it’s so hard to find, isn’t it? You can go on countless dates, meet people, even date and marry them, and still find that nothing ever quite works out. You just can’t seem to find that _right_ one. The perfect counterpoint to your unique self. Too many people just aren’t compatible. Many have lost hope.

“Well, I’m here to tell you that hope is _not_ lost. Here at InfoTechnologies, we are sharing an exciting new project. The app is called ‘The Soulmate Project,” 

“They went with that one.” Fai said, glancing at Yuui, who seemed to be watching with interest. 

“The technology already exists. We all have our Infowatches, after all. With the built in capabilities the Infowatches utilize, including the biological readings that keep your heart healthy and your waistline trim, with the addition of some very exciting new technology that can pick out genetic markers, and further chemical readings than we’ve seen before, as well as a brief personality profile, we’ll be able to compare your file with millions in the database. When one matches, you can contact each other with the knowledge that whomever resulted will be the closest thing to a soulmate that science can produce. Reassuring, isn’t it?” 

She smiled cheekily, and then an announcer voice came over to run the ad. 

“Take the guessing out of dating. Sign up now for the genesis of The Soulmate Project, and find your true love today!” 

Fai spread his hands, grinning a little. “Ta da!” This had been his project for years, back when he and Yuui were just starting out at their adopted uncle’s company InfoTech after school. Yuui had gone into the marketing for a different department, selling the chemical and frequency output apps, like what allowed Fai to get his caffiene fix without doing more than push a button on his watch.  
Fai was a programmer, and Ashura had immediately taken him under his wing, and allowed him the freedom to come up with whatever he wanted. In the five years since then, he’d developed a number of apps and programs for the Infowatches - some which took off, some which didn’t, and then spent the last year working on _this_. His magnum opus. Project Soulmate. 

“What do you think?” Fai asked Yuui. He was smiling brightly at him, and reached over to noogy him. 

"This is what you've been hiding from me for this whole year?" He laughed, nearly crushing him, and making the chair groan under their weight. Fai tickled him back just where he wouldn't be able to resist squirming away, and Yuui squeaked and giggled.

“ _Classified_! I couldn’t tell you!” Fai protested. 

“Is this your way of hinting that you’re looking for romance? I told you, I know a guy. He’s _really_ handsome. You’d love him!” 

Fai narrowed his eyes. “You’re not setting me up with one of your crazy friends, no way.”

Yuui continued to rough house, getting his arm around Fai’s hair, messing up the messy waves even more. 

“C’mon, Fai. Everyone needs love in their life! That’s what the video said!”

“Says you!” 

Then there was a tiny cleared throat, and Fai and Yuui froze and looked towards the door. 

“Sakura-chan!” Fai greeted with a wave. It was Sakura, Ashura’s personal assistant, and all around doer of things that needed to be done. She was sweet and adorable with light brown hair cut in a bob, and big green eyes, and they’d been friends since she started working here four years ago. She kept the cot for him, (though she often insisted he go home to sleep) and brought Fai actual coffees rather than letting him just use the caffeine setting. 

She stood in the doorway, her knuckle raised to knock, looking amused at what she’d come upon. 

“Hello, Sakura-san,” Yuui greeted, and she nodded at him.

“You two look like you’re having fun,” she said, with a smile. 

Fai protested. “Just a little horsing around, my dear! No harm done!” 

“Mhm,” she smiled. “Anyway, I came to tell you that Ashura-san wants to speak with you.” 

Fai sat up straighter, glancing at the end screen that still was on the holo above his desk. He hoped it wasn’t to reprimand him for showing Yuui before the official release date. 

“Ah, of course,” Fai said, tapping his watch and snoozing and locking his whole system. The desk reverted back to looking like a cleared desk, rather than a layer of glass and holo screens. 

Yuui stood too, brushing himself off, and pushing his glasses back up his nose. “Well, tell dear old uncle ‘hi’ from me.” 

Fai poked him. “He’ll dislike being called old, but I will.” 

~

Sakura led him to Ashura’s office, though he’d known the way since he was a child, when Ashura had started up this company. Ashura had unofficially adopted he and Yuui when they were eight years old, when their parents had died, telling them to call him ‘uncle’ and caring for them without fail. He’d been a family friend, but he became like a father to them.  
Even now, Fai felt a debt to him, but Ashura always waved any talk of that off. 

Ashura’s office was on the seventeenth floor of the Info Tech building, two floors above Fai’s. Just outside the block of Ashura’s office suite, Sakura glanced at her watch, a flutter of shock passing over her face. 

Fai looked at her, frowning a little. “Are you alright, Sakura-chan?” 

She smiled, waving her hand. “Oh yes! I just got a message that my boyfrind got the reservations we wanted. I’m quite surprised!”

“Really? Which place?” 

Sakura gestured a vague direction. “You know that sushi bar over on eighth?”

Fai nodded. “Oh, that place is good. You’ll have such fun!” Then he blinked. “Ahhh, you didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend! Sakura-chan, how cute!~” 

Sakura giggled.

Fai left her outside with a final pat to the head, and then went inside the room, knocking on the glass door as he did so. 

Ashura looked up from his desktop, screens fluttering away as he did so, to leave his face clear to the visitors. His long dark hair was pulled back in a tail, and he wore what Fai could only ever imagine him wearing, an impeccably cut suit (much unlike Fai’s colored tops, and patterns). 

He smiled to see him come in, and rose to come around the desk, and give him a hug. 

“Ah, Fai my dear, talented, nephew!” he said, patting his back. Fai smiled to be praised, and pulled back. 

“Hello, Uncle. Yuui says hi,” he said. For reasons he couldn’t tell, Yuui and Ashura had had a tenser relationship than Fai had with him. Still, Ashura accepted the passed on greeting with a smile. 

“Then, ‘hi back’ to Yuui. You know, he doesn’t come and visit me enough,” Ashura said, resuming his seat again, behind the desk.  
Fai took the chair opposite the desk, leaning back in it comfortably. 

“I suppose he’s been busy.” 

Ashura leveled a look at him. 

“You don’t come often enough either.” 

Fai grinned cheekily. 

“I’ve been busy too. Do you want to hear an update?” 

Ashura lifted one eyebrow, sardonically. “I had to send my assistant to fetch you for that very purpose. Yes, I want to hear an update.” 

Fai took a dramatic breath him, and then pulled up the miniscreen from his watch. 

“The alterations needed for a regular Infowatch to support Project Soulmate-”

“It’s called the Soulmate Project,” Ashura interjected, and Fai waved his hand. 

“- are still pretty substantial, which will deter people from installing, I think. I’m working on narrowing that down, cutting out extraneous bits, and that’s coming along nicely. Otherwise, the program is ready to go. When we launch, there will need to be some time to fill the database, and then we can start matching people!” Fai felt happiness flood through him. So, he was a romantic, but he truly thought that people would like this. He could change people’s _lives_ with this!

Ashura clapped his hands. “Wonderful! What’s your projected date? I’d like to start generating some buzz.”

“Those commercials we filmed should help with that,” Fai said, and then tapped a finger against his lip. “I was thinking June first. New summer, new beginnings and all that.” 

“Sounds perfect. That gives you six weeks to iron out the bugs.” 

Fai jumped to a smart salute, though still sitting the effect was lost. 

“Yes, sir!” 

~

“You awake there?” 

Fai shot up, where he’d been leaning against his hand. His eyes had been closed. When did that happen? Kyle Rondart, one of his fellow programmers on the various projects he did for Ashura, though not on Project Soulmate (as much as he wished to - Kyle and he and a longstanding rivary, and he was always jealous whenever Fai got a the clearance to work on his own projects), was standing in the doorway of his office, raising his eyebrow at him. 

“Well, I suppose not entirely,” Fai laughed to himself, leaning back and rubbing his eyes. He blinked at the time. 2:15 in the afternoon. He was flagging. “Whoo, I suppose I shouldn’t sleep at the office so much…” 

Kyle laughed. “Maybe not. You should head home, take a nap. Leave some work for the rest of us.”

Fai sighed, and stood up to stretch. “Yeah…” He shut down his work, and headed home for a nap, planning on returning to the office in the late hours of the evening to keep working. 

His apartment was a flat in the upper levels of the city, near where the office building was. It was stylish and well decorated, as Ashura had lent him his personal decorator when he’d moved in, and it was the very best and most modern living accoutrements that money could buy. Privately, Fai thought it was a nice, if a little chilly, and wished that Yuui could live with him. They’d moved into separate apartments soon after moving out from Ashura’s mansion. Yuui thought it was better for them to be their own people, but Fai missed his presence when he went home alone each night.  
He forced down a protein bar, and then slept for a while in his big white bed, before his watch beeping near his ear woke him up. Fai groaned, and squinted at the face, trying to see if he needed to take the call, since he’d only been asleep about an hour. It was Yuui, so he yawned and pressed answer, closing his eyes again. 

“What is it Yuui? I was sleeping…” he whined. Yuui huffed a laugh. 

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, but Fai frowned at his voice. It sounded strange. 

“Are you alright, Yuui? You sound tense.” 

Yuui breathed out, a sigh this time. “There’s something I need to talk to you about? Can you meet me at that old bar we used to sneak into?” 

The bar was less just a drinking establishment, and more of a dance hall, with performers and bright costumes and lots of alcohol. In their younger years, it had been exciting to sneak out and have fun without Ashura knowing, but he hadn’t been back in ages. 

Fai blinked, lifting himself up on his elbow. “The Daidouji? Why?”

“I’ll tell you there. Can you get there in half an hour?” 

“Yeah-”

“Okay, see you there.” 

The line beeped and the call was over. Fai blinked down at his watch, frowning in confusion. What could Yuui possibly need to talk with him about, in that old bar, no less? 

~

Fai got up and dressed (you can’t go to a bar without wearing something a little nicer than usual, and so he put on his favorite purple shirt, that was tailored exactly to his body, and a pair of tight black jeans) and grabbed a taxi to get where his brother had told him. It was in the lower levels of the city, and the computerized taxi charged him exorbitantly to get there. 

The Daidouji looked exactly the same as it had when they were teenagers, with classic wooden walls, and glossy glass tables. The stage, where performers danced in intricate costumes, was in an inset surrounded with carvings of dragons and tree branches, though the place was mostly empty now at four o’clock in the afternoon. Fai walked in, this time with his Infowatch pinging the age limit and his ID - no more having to sneak - and looked around. 

He didn’t see his brother at any of the tables, so he went up to the bar to ask the woman there, who was sketching on a flat tablet, her elegant wrist band glittering with crystals.  
She wore one of the dancing costumes like it was a second nature, with her long black hair cascading down her back, and violet eyes accented with lovely make up. Fai smiled at her charmingly. 

“Hello, Mademoiselle, it’s a fine evening, wouldn’t you say?”

She lifted her eyebrow and smiled gently. “Some might,” she said, tapping the pad to lift up the order screen. “May I get you anything?” 

Fai ordered something sugary and fruity that he forgot the name of, and took a seat at the bar. The woman went back to drawing what looked like an elaborate dress. 

“You’re very talented,” Fai said, tipping his glass towards the pad. She smiled calmly. 

“I design the costumes here. I have a friend who always models them perfectly!” she said, excitement coming into her voice. 

“I’m sure she looks stunning in them,” Fai replied, and she nodded, enthusiastically. 

“Nothing less from her,” she finished with, tapping the screen and sending it away. 

Fai smiled, and nodded, taking another sip of his drink. He glanced around again, towards the door as if he could see his brother walking in right at that moment. The woman looked at him curiously. 

“Are you waiting for someone?” she asked, and Fai turned back to her and nodded. 

“My brother. He said to meet him here,” Fai said, glancing around again, as if the pale blond could have been missed in the first and second go overs. “You haven’t seen him, have you? He looks just like me, except he wears glasses and much more boring clothes.” 

Her face grew solemn, and she looked him over with a strange look in her eyes. It was almost worry. 

“Yes, actually. He left something for you.” 

Fai blinked, surprised at her change in mood. “What?” 

She nodded, and bent under the bar, taking out a small, flat box. She opened the lid, and Fai saw Yuui’s watch, with the plain brown band was laid out on a piece of fabric. It looked normal, untouched, but … but, well, people weren’t supposed to go places without their watches. It was enough to get you pulled aside by a police scanner, to check on your wiring. Why would Yuui leave his?

“Why do you have that?” Fai whispered, something chilling sliding down his spine. The woman shook her head. 

“I can’t tell you more. He left this for you. Take it.” 

Fai, startled, reached out and picked it up. It felt strange in his hands, the wiring in his wrist reacting to the programming in the watch face; the identical biologies of the two twins had always confused the technology.

“Now go,” the woman finished, snapping the box shut. “Go home.” 

“But, I was supposed-” 

“He won’t be coming here.” She refused to say anymore, turning around and heading into the back. Fai stared after her, more confused than he’d ever been in his life. 

Fai did head home, his mind whirling with attempts at explaining what the hell could be going on. Yuui had left his watch at that bar, and disappeared. That woman seemed to know something, had _had_ his watch, and wouldn’t answer his questions. Fai didn’t know what was going on, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut that he didn’t understand. 

Fai went back to the office, to distract himself from the strange goings on, and hours later he jolted upright from a doze on his keyboard to his watch beeping. He deleted the line of dfnsjkdfjklsdfddjfdfdddffddfdf that his cheek had made on his screen, and answered. 

“Hello?” 

“Is this Fai Flourite, identification number 4382FDOJ, twin brother of Yuui Flourite identification number 3428FWIL?” 

Fai frowned, his stomach jolting. This sounded official and mechanical, like police bots, and they never called with good news and- 

“Uh, yes, yes it is.” 

“Confirm.” 

“Uh, Fai Flourite, identification number 4382FDOJ,” Fai recited. There was a pleased beep from the mechanical sounding voice. Then the news spilled out. 

“You are the emergency contact person or persons on Yuui Flourite’s identification number 3428FWIL data profile. This call is to inform you that Yuui Flourite identification number 3428FWIL has deceased as of 04:06:37 this afternoon. Please report to your nearest police bot station for full details.”  
The call beeped closed, and Fai, Fai didn’t breathe. 

The sterile way the police system worked in recent years had been a topic of debate, but most of the community had agreed that removing the emotional aspect from the security of the city, the judgements and prejudices and external motivations, had been a good thing. It was only tonight that Fai saw the other side of that coldness, and it was in him, staring at his watch screen, blinking on call ended, with shock icy through his system. A human would have been able to prepare him for the news, tell him in soft words, and gently explain what happened. 

What happened. 

Yuui… was dead? 

Fai found he was breathing too quickly only when his head started spinning. He dropped his arm, and staggered backwards off the chair and onto the floor, his legs too weak to hold him. What-? 

What had happened, what had _happened_? He sprawled on his hands and knees, and for a moment, he thought he might throw up. 

“No, no no no no…” he whispered to himself, and the word cut through his haze of denial. It was too quiet, too - 

No one was in the building. No one would hear, and he wanted to sob, to scream. But though his eyes were wide and face was twisted, he didn’t. He couldn’t. He couldn’t believe it.  
He coughed instead, around a gag, and then ran to the restroom in his office to vomit. His stomach heaved, and he hunched over the toilet, ignoring the little alarm pings at his body’s stress that was coming from his watch. This, this was all a fever dream. He had the flu, he must have. Bad timing, with the project coming out in three weeks, but he’d be okay, and Yuui would help him if he got behind, because that’s what twins do. That’s what they do. 

Fai flushed the toilet, and slumped back, shaking, against the wall. 

He- he had to go to the station. Find out what happened. Find out if it was real. Find out what person had lied to him, because this _couldn’t_ be real.

~

The police station was almost entirely electronic, run by the police bots, and a ton of computer programming. It meant, that as distraught was Fai felt, he still had to wait in line to verify his id, and then to scan his wiring, and then to fill out two massive files of paperwork with shaking numb hands, before he could even get to anyone to ask a question. 

When he finally entered the room where the police bots were seated at desks like they were trying to be human, he found his throat was too dry to even get the words out. They were prepared for that though, and he soon found himself speaking to one of the few human workers in the police station: the coroner. 

“Can I see him?” Fai asked, and the man nodded and led him to the morgue. What an awful word. The place looked sterile and as computerized as possible, but there still needed to be a human worker for the delicate work of examining bodies. This one was a young man, who quietly told him all the details surrounding Yuui’s death. Fai was led into the morgue as he spoke.  
“The body was found in the lower district, and except for some burns around his wrist, looked unharmed. We’re ruling cause of death as a heart attack. I’m sorry.” 

Fai’s mind was reeling, his entire body shaking, but some part of him noticed that there was no mention of Yuui’s watch. Fai was handed a few of his other effects - his wallet, and glasses, and then sent on his way. Fai had the watch in his pocket, but kept silent until he was in the taxi home. 

Then he cried. Fai pulled Yuui’s watch out again, and clutched it to himself, holding it like he could have held Yuui just a day ago. He hadn’t even gotten to see him again. He’d never see him again.  
He directed the taxi to his office instead of his apartment, not wanting to go home. Even though he and Yuui hadn’t lived together, there were too many memories there. Inside the building was almost empty. He nodded at some janitor that he recognized the face of, and then went into his office and locked the door. Fai didn’t want anyone to come in, didn’t want anyone to see. He hid under the desk, and curled up with Yuui’s watch again. 

A while later, Fai sniffed, and looked down at the watch. The police made no mention of where his watch had been. It was here, in his hands. He hadn’t mentioned it, because how could he explain that the night his brother died, he’d received the watch from a woman in a bar with a mysterious message. 

Something, something was going on. Yuui hadn’t just died by chance the night he’d wanted to tell him something. That woman had known whatever it was as well, for Yuui had given her his watch, telling her to give it to Fai. 

Fai was supposed to have it. 

But why? 

Fai pulled the watch up to his face, and looked at it with swollen eyes. It looked normal. The time clicked over to the next minute - 7:37 pm. just past an hour since he found out Yuui had died, though it already seemed a lifetime he’d been alone. Fai squeezed his eyes against the ache in his chest, and then opened them again, pushing through it. 

Fai bit his lip, and tapped into Yuui’s homepage, like he’d done this morning, switching a programmed flip to let it read his complete age.

This time, he just pulled open everything he could find, filling the tiny screen that projected over the watchface. There were normal things, schedule, notes, media he liked. And then, he found the coded files he’d seen. The ones that were in the code they’d developed as children, a twin language no one else knew. 

Fai hadn’t thought about it in years, and Yuui told him earlier that day that it was just idle curiosity, but Yuui had _folders_ of the stuff. Why would he tell him it was just practice? 

Biting his lip, Fai stared at the screen, and began decoding it. 

As the translated files began to fill the screen, Fai was glad he was under the desk still, because no one could see this. 

This. This was ...treason. 

Yuui had reams of files on many people in the company, what they did and what project they were working on. Most people’s projects were confidential, so Yuui would have had to steal that. He saw his own name, and the Soulmate Project, copied from his computer _today_ because he saw coding and changes he’d only done that morning. How had Yuui gotten that? And why? 

There was a folder labeled Ashura, and Fai hovered his finger over it for a long while, before tapping it. 

Inside, was reports, and personal notes, and pictures of and about Ashura. Trade deals, selling details of their company and projects to the highest bidder. Proof of banking fraud, where Ashura scooped out millions for himself. His own project, Project Soulmate up for sale, with an exorbitant price tag.

Fai stared, aghast, and reading against his own desires, seeing his carefully constructed life falling apart even more before his eyes. 

Yuui, Yuui had been spying on the whole company for ages. He’d been gathering information, but for what reason? Because Ashura was corrupt? The company was? Where did he find this information? What right did he have to accuse the man who’d taken them from foster care, saving them when their parents had died. What, what did he do now? 

Fai closed out everything, and almost tossed the watch away, not wanting to see it anymore, but he couldn’t. This was the last thing he had, even if he didn’t understand how Yuui could have had this stuff on there. He pressed it to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. 

Then, there was a ping. A notification from the watch. Fai took a breath, and pulled it up. 

**Urgent: Daidouji Bar: ASAP**

It was a message, from whom it didn’t say. But Fai knew that bar, and figured it was whoever Yuui had been working with. That woman for sure, and maybe Fai could get some answers. He breathed in, and stood, determining he’d go, at the least to find out what was going on. 

As he stood there was a little tap on the door. Fai turned, and saw that Ashura was standing outside his glass wall, putting a hand to his chest like he’d just been startled badly. Ashura who’d done awful things, according to Yuui’s notes. But - this was the closest thing he’d had to a father since he was young, and he couldn’t, couldn’t just give up on him like this. Surely there had to be another explanation. 

And mostly what he wanted right now were comforting ;arms around him, and these thoughts to not be in his head. 

Fai walked over, and unlocked his office door, opening it to let Ashura in. He rubbed a hand over his face, knowing he probably looked a mess.  
Ashura’s face changed from amusement at his start, to concern. 

“Fai, what are you doing here, and under your desk? What’s wrong?” His hands came out to rest on either side of his face, and his touch was so warm. Fai felt the tears start again. He couldn’t speak. 

“Fai,” Ashura whispered, brushing his hair back. “Whatever is the matter?” 

Fai sniffed, and pressed his lips together, before rasping out. “Yuui-” 

“What about him?” Ashura said, his voice so gentle, so worried. “Is he alright?” Yuui had taken Ashura off his emergency papers a while ago. Fai had thought nothing of it. Ashura didn’t know. And if, if, Ashura was involved in any conspiracy, and Yuui had died because of it, wouldn’t he know? 

Fai trembled, and shook his head. 

“He’s … he’s dead.” 

Ashura’s face transformed into shock and pain. “What? How?” 

Fai shook his head, sobbing, so Ashura gathered him close, stroking his hair, and letting Fai cling to him. 

“Oh, my dear Fai. I’m so sorry!” 

Fai cried against him for a few minutes, and then breathed deep. Ashura’s familiar smell, of his cologne and the darjeeling tea he insisted on drinking rather than getting caffeine stimulation, filled his nose and reminded him of home with Yuui. 

“What am I supposed to do?” he whispered, raw. Ashura pulled back, his hands going back to cradling his face. 

“Fai, Fai, you’ll get through this. You’ll survive. You have me. You have your work. You have that deadline, remember?” Ashura said, voice comforting.  
Fai nodded. Six weeks, it felt like a lifetime. The deadline. Of course, he could still work. That was something Yuui hadn’t ever been involved in. That would be what he could take comfort in. Ashura was right. 

Fai nodded again, and Ashura stepped back, after one more brush down his hair. 

“For now, you should go home. Sleep. You are free to take the day off tomorrow.” 

He disappeared through the glass door, leaving Fai alone. Ashura’s comfort had been genuine. Fai clung to that idea. 

But that ping was still on his mind, that message. A meeting of some sort. Someone there would be able to tell him...something! 

Fai tapped his own watch, and called another taxi. He’d need to stop at home first, but he was going to that meeting. 

~

Fai’s taxi pulled up in front of bar, for the second time in a night, and he paused on the seat before getting out. He looked down at his clothes, tugging at the unfamiliar and loose collar, before tucking in the shirt tail again. Yuui’s clothes had always been almost shabby and loose, to Fai’s exasperation. He sighed, and dabbed again at his face, where make up covered up his red eyes, and tried not to cry again and ruin it. Instead, he slipped on Yuui’s glasses, and let his eyes adjust to the slight prescription he didn’t need. Lastly, he unhooked his stylish watch and band, and tucked them into his pocket, while pulling out Yuui’s. As they’d found out long ago, the biological sensors were confused by identical twins, and so they could switch watches and fool the programing to thinking they were the same person. It would be handy right now, because he needed to be Yuui in every way he could. He needed to know. 

Fai sighed, and got out of the taxi, sending it away with a cash chip, instead of his account information, and then walked into the bar. 

It looked busier than it had when he was there earlier, with groups of people seated at the booths and the bar. They were all facing the same way, and seated towards the front, Fai saw his friend from earlier, who’d given him the watch. She glanced up, and saw him and her eyes widened. 

“Yuui?” she mouthed, and Fai saw the table full of people glance around at him as he got closer. 

“Yuui, we were so worried! Tomoyo told us how you scared you looked when you left earlier. Are you alright now?” Fai tried not to react as he recognized Sakura. _She_ was in on it, this conspiracy? Fai laughed lightly, trying to deepen his tone slightly to match Yuui’s voice. 

“I’m fine,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “What’d I miss?” 

Fai was offered a seat, and given a recap by the woman who’d been drawing in the bar earlier, whose name, he gathered, was Tomoyo. 

“Sakura-chan was about to tell us what she learned today,” she said quietly. Sakura nodded, and stood up. 

“And perhaps Yuui could help me tell it,” she said. “Since he gave me the information.” 

Fai blinked, wondering what Yuui had seen. Still, he smiled softly. 

“Of course, Sakura-ch- san,” Fai said, wondering what Yuui had known. He had almost slipped. Yuui called her Sakura-san. Had called her Sakura-san, he corrected with a pang. 

Sakura then took a breath, and began describing Project Soulmate.

“Yuui sent me the plans this morning, so I haven’t had much time to go over them. He told me that a developer, who he’d prefer not to identify at this time, revealed it to him in a moment of confidence.”

Fai tried to keep his reeling shock under control. Yuui was giving away his entire project, had taken his plans, and tossed them to whoever this group was. He felt sick with betrayal. He only hadn’t given up Fai's name.

Fai found himself looking around the tables. Beside him were Tomoyo and Sakura, but there were more people listening intently to Sakura’s report. Directly across from him at another table, Fai accidentally met the eyes of a tall, dark haired man who was glaring angrily. At first Fai thought he was just upset about Sakura’s news, but his eyes narrowed as he held Fai’s gaze, and he realized he was intentionally glaring at him. Fai blinked, and straightened up, trying not to squint behind his borrowed glasses. He wondered what was wrong with him, before noticing that the stranger’s irises were a bright reddish brown color. He’d never seen such eyes before. 

Sakura went on. “The project seems to be a matchmaking app, but with far more invasions of privacy than the typical ones online. It uses the fullest technology of the Infowatches to read all kinds of things: biological data, DNA, chemical and hormone readings, even food tastes and allergies, and matches people up with those things combined with the regular profiles to fill out.”

Fai listened as people reacted like this was a terrible thing. What was so bad about it? What about it would make Ashura want to sell it, if that was the truth?

A young man raised his hand, and Sakura blushed a little as she called on him. 

“Yes, Syaoran?” 

“So, the problem is the database. All that information in one place?”

Sakura nodded. “So far as I can tell. The matches don’t matter, but if someone got in control of that stored information, with everyone in it, it would be the biggest information breach in history. And according to Yuui, Ashura is already looking at buyers.”

There was a uneasy murmur through the crowd, and Fai lowered his head, hoping no one called on him. 

There was a disturbed murmur through the room, and then the stranger who’d been glaring spoke up. Fai noticed he wore no watch. 

“What does Yuui think of this?” he growled, his voice low and somehow dark. His red eyes turned to him again, and Fai almost swallowed, aware that he had no idea how Yuui interacted with these people, or even what their names were. 

“Uh, well, it’s as Sakura-san said. The program sounds dangerous, definitely...” he said, hesitantly. 

The seconds that followed were full of a loud clatter, and suddenly he was shoved from the chair, and his back was against the wall behind him. Strong hands were pressing on his throat. The glasses were knocked askew, and Fai could see that the angry stranger was inches from his face, examining him. Fai gripped those thick wrists, but he couldn’t budge him back. There was a thick mass of something on the skin of the left wrist that felt rough and ropey and looked like a scar.

“This isn’t Yuui,” he said, into the startled noises of the crowd. They quieted, apparently used to listening to him. “This is his brother.” 

Fai gaped at him, and everyone else was staring. Sakura was narrowing her eyes as if trying to tell the difference between them, but there was little physically that would make you be able to tell. A slight difference in length of hair, Fai’s nose turned up just the slightest bit more, a slight nearsightedness made Yuui wear glasses. Oh, and also Yuui was dead now. That should make it easier. Fai felt a stab in his throat.

“Where’s Yuui?” the man growled, and Fai ended up laughing, choking against the pressure on his throat. 

“I’m impressed at your attentiveness, good sir! It isn’t easy to tell us apart, especially if I’m pretending to be him. If he pretends to be me, it’s a little easier!” Fai babbled, distracted by the crowd, still gripping those wrists. The man’s fingers on the left side were weaker. 

“Kurogane, put him down,” Tomoyo said, her voice tiny but demanding. Kurogane snarled but didn’t let him down. Fai gasped in a little, and chuckled, his mind whirling. Amusement, distant and defensive, flooded him, and he babbled. 

“Kurogane? What a strange name. I think I’ll call you Kuro-chan, or maybe Kuro-pu? Kuro-tan!” 

“What the hell are you calling me?” Kurogane roared, and then a small hand patted his side. Tomoyo had come closer from her place on the other table, standing beside Kurogane, who was either really huge, or she was really was that tiny. Judging by the size of the hands around his throat, he’d got with some combination. 

“Kurogane, please let Fai go.” 

Kurogane huffed, teeth bared, and stepped back letting Fai fall against the wall. His knees gave way, and he slid down until he was half crouched half slumped on the floor. Fai’s throat burned, and he was breathing heavily. 

“Ah…” he coughed, “much better, thank you Tomoyo-chan.” 

She looked at him solemnly, her eyes flickering to his wrist, where Yuui’s watch still flashed. 

“What are you doing here, Fai? Where is Yuui? Do you know what happened to him?” 

Fai ran his hands up his face, and into his hair. He felt like he was still choking. He couldn’t breathe. 

Kurogane was looking down at Tomoyo. “You were surprised to see him, when you thought he was Yuui, I mean. What do you know?”

Tomoyo exchanged a glance with Sakura, who was standing near, looking concerned for Fai. Fai dropped his eyes from them. Sakura nodded, and spoke. 

“When Yuui sent me those plans, I was excited. This was a breakthrough. Knowing this information, we could finally start _stopping_ the actions of Ashura’s company. But, Yuui was worried. He seemed anxious, and he wouldn’t tell me why.” 

Tomoyo put a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, and continued, connected a few questions that Fai himself had for her. 

“He came to the Daidouji around 3:00 this afternoon, looking troubled to my eyes as well. I brought him a drink, just as he got a phone call. I don’t know who he spoke to, but he seemed to know the person, and he seemed to be afraid. He got off the call, after agreeing to meet, and came over. I was confused, since he hadn’t even drunk anything, but he paid, and he then took off his watch - the watch that Fai is wearing - and gave it to me. He said that Fai was on his way there, and to give this to him if he didn’t return before Fai did. Then he left. When Fai came, I did as I was told, and gave Fai the watch, and then I heard nothing more until the call came out for a meeting.” 

Sakura looked at Tomoyo, and then Fai. “As far as we can tell, no one has seen Yuui since then.” 

“And then his brother shows up with the watch, pretending to be him.” Kurogane gestured angrily at him. “Either he’s a massive idiot, or a spy.”

Fai looked up, and met Sakura’s eyes. She looked so worried. She was his friend, but she’d been lying to her all along. As had Yuui. In fact, if Yuui was right, then _everyone_ had lied to him his entire life. 

Everyone here was watching him, these people who his brother had known, who were worried about him and Fai had to tell them, that, that-

“Yuui’s dead,” he rasped. He didn’t look up to see their reactions, but he heard them anyway. Gasps, and murmurs. Sakura’s voice denying it. 

Fai heaved a couple of breaths, and then asked the question that had been plaguing him. 

“What’s going on? What the hell is going on?” His voice was soft, and more desperate than he’d ever heard himself sound. 

Kurogane, the man who’d grabbed his throat, leaned down and lifted up his chin to look him in the eyes. 

“The world is shit. What else do you need to know?”

~

Later, in the back room of the bar, Fai heard the whole story, as far as these people had it. Back when the wrist implants were optional, there were many that protested. They said it was an invasion of privacy, and a betrayal of human rights. The government cracked down on the protesters and amped up the marketing, and people everywhere soon saw nothing wrong with having one. Soon, after various government deals, it was illegal to not have one. 

The watches came out of that, and the app developers, like Fai, capitalized on the capabilities the watches had of recording and displaying any information you could wish. Ashura was the head of an app company that did that very thing, only, as Yuui and others had found, he often sold the information gathered to people who could do unfathomable things with it. That’s what he intended on doing with the Soulmate Project. 

Fai sat curled on a stool, staring down at his own wrist, while Sakura told him the whole story. She was dabbing anti-abrasion on his throat, the chemicals stinging slightly where Kurogane had grabbed him. Fai kept his eyes on the silvery lines of wire, threading where his veins were and disappearing deeper into his forearm to connect with his nerves. He’d taken off Yuui’s watch, and was holding it in his other hand, and so he could see the tiny square, about half the size of his little fingernail just under the base of his hand that was the implanted chip that recorded every piece of information about his entire life, down to the bruises he’d sustained. 

“He can’t keep this a secret. Look at him, he doesn’t care! He’ll give us all away!” Kurogane’s voice was harsh, arguing with Tomoyo and other members of the group in the background, while Sakura tended to him. Fai let the voices wash over him. There was nothing he wanted to respond to, nothing he wanted to listen to at all. 

“He’s already heard enough. If he could be convinced, we could have another person on the inside.” That was the calmer voice of the young man with brown hair that Sakura had addressed as Syaoran. Fai wondered if he was the boyfriend she’d mentioned, and if he had an actual cat. 

“He’s _not_ our ally. He doesn’t even know what’s going on!” Kurogane said. 

“If he keeps his head down-” Tomoyo tried to interject, and Kurogane cut her off. 

“Please, like that’ll work. Look at him! He’s gonna get himself killed and bring everything down around our heads,” Kurogane said hotly. Beside him, the young man nodded reluctantly. 

“He’s probably right.” 

“Syaoran!” Sakura chided, and he shrugged in response. 

“Well, regardless, it’s up to him. Once he understands everything,” Tomoyo finished, and she seemed to be the unofficial leader, because everyone subsided, even Kurogane’s brutish attitude. They all turned to look at him, and Fai slowly lifted his head and met their gazes. 

“Well? What are you going to do?” Kurogane asked him, and Fai felt something in him bristle at his demanding tone. He pulled on a saccharine smile. 

“First, I might have a drink,” he purred, to hold in his anger.

Kurogane made a sound that might have been better suited for a mad dog, and for a moment Fai thought he might grab his throat again. Oddly, he wasn’t very scared. It felt good to taunt him, to see real anger on someone’s face, since it couldn’t be his. 

The rest of the group looked uncomfortable, and Syaoran had a hand on Kurogane’s arm, but Fai didn’t let his sweet smile fall. 

“Oh, come now. I’ve almost been strangled by Kuro-pipi here. Surely someone could get me some water?” he sang, and Sakura rose, confusion on her face. He knew he was acting strange, but this was all he could do. 

Sakura brought him a glass tumbler with clear liquid in it, and he felt almost disappointed that it was only water. 

“Thank you kindly, Sakura-chan,” he said, bowing over her hand, before shooting back the water like the alcohol he wished it was. 

“He’s a crazy person,” he heard Kurogane mutter. 

Fai abruptly felt incredibly tired. He wanted Yuui. He wanted to curl up with him like they had as children, watching movies on the old flat screens. He wanted to see his face again. Now he had only the mirror to look at. If he put on the glasses in his pocket, would he be able to pretend? 

“Let me go,” Fai whispered, falling back against the chair he was sat in. “Let me go home, please.” 

Tomoyo leaned down in front of him. 

“Fai-san,” she said, putting her hand on his. “If you go home, no one can guarantee your safety. No one can promise you haven’t already been compromised. They could kill you-”

“Please,” Fai gasped, his throat throbbing, and head pounding, and eyes aching. He’d cry the whole ride home, he could tell. “I don’t care. My brother’s - I want to go home.” 

Tomoyo nodded, and lifted him to his feet. He could barely support himself, head spinning with emotions, and Tomoyo gave Kurogane a look. Kurogane groaned to himself, giving a full body eyeroll, but he tucked his shoulder under Fai’s and drew his arm around his waist so Fai didn’t have to stand on his own. 

Fai went almost limp, relief easing something in his throat, at the warm body against his side. It was almost as good as a hug, it was something real, someone human. Kurogane, most of these people...had never lied to him. Not like everyone else, if they were to be believed. Sakura, Yuui, Ashura... Fai breathed through a sob, and clenched his fingers in Kurogane’s shirt, and he turned his body in towards him, pressing his face against the broad chest. 

Kurogane jostled him. “Oi, ease up,” he said, dragging him out to the street. Someone had called another taxi for him. 

Fai didn’t want to ease up, didn’t want to let go, to go home to an empty house. But he forced himself to release his hold on Kurogane’s shoulder, and immediately missed the warmth. 

“Get out of here,” Kurogane told him, setting him in the taxi. “I hope for your sake, you can keep your mouth shut, you idiot.” 

It was the last thing he heard Kurogane say. The door shut, and Fai flopped against the seat, the seat belt chime pinging at him. He put it on tiredly, and let the taxi take him home. 

~

Kurogane shut the taxi door firmly on the idiot, and let the thing drive away, brushing off the warm spot that that guy, Fai, had left. Poor bastard had been really overwhelmed, that much was obvious, but he’d also been incredibly irritating, and Kurogane felt like he needed to brush off his hands to get rid of the feel of him leaning against him. 

He took a deep breath, and tried to drive away the rest of his annoyance. He couldn’t blame the guy - he’d just lost his twin and found out that his entire company was probably corrupt and his brother had been working from the inside to take it down. Murder and corporate espionage were a lot to take in, much less on the same day.

He sensed someone behind him, but it was just Tomoyo, stepping up lightly to stand next to him. She was an old old friend, since they were both kids, and knew him better than anyone, so he allowed his annoyed stance to relax a little bit. 

“Do you think he’ll live through the night?” he asked, folding his arms, a bit uncomfortable with the fact that he might have sent that guy off to his death, even if that’s what he wished.  
Tomoyo sighed, and took his wrist, holding it the way she had when she’d been a tiny girl, and he was a gangly preteen. 

“I hope so. He could be useful yes, but tonight wasn’t the night to press on him. We should keep an eye on him, though, to protect him if we can.”

“Once he goes into that building, there’s little we can do, unless you want to task Sakura with guard duty. Which she could do,” Kurogane said, thinking how the small, sweet girl was deceptively good with a gun. “But she’s got her own tasks. She’s the only one left now.” 

Tomoyo nodded. “Yuui… I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Yuui had been a friend to most everyone in the group, and he was now gone because of what they’d been doing. Kurogane sighed, and rubbed his head. It was sometimes easy to forget that what they were doing was dangerous as hell, and most of them were wanted by the law and private securities just for existing without wrist implants, let alone all the other stuff they did. 

Of course, not all of them didn’t have implants in - they couldn’t function as an organization without some people who could go out undercover, and you just couldn’t get by without an implant. Especially in the upper levels. Down here on the streets, it was a little easier. That was where Kurogane ran his clinic, and where Tomoyo had her bar and fake wrist watch. Sakura still had a chip in, because she lived above them, in the upper city, and she needed to be able to get in and out of the InfoTech building. 

“What do we do, then?” Kurogane said, breaking the silence. “We need to stop that project, but we know almost nothing about what is planned with it, or when it will be operational… we have the plans, but nothing useful.” 

Tomoyo glanced back into the lit up windows of the bar, front which you could see almost nothing of the people inside, through clever angling, and handy standing walls. It made Tomoyo’s place a good room to meet in. 

“We trust Sakura-chan to keep her ears open. And we wait for more information.” 

Kurogane humphed. “Do you think that idiot is going to come back?” 

Tomoyo hummed. “He may have to.”

~

Life was strange after that for Fai, for the next week or so. Everyone in the office knew that Yuui had died. A sudden heart condition. The missing watch wasn’t mentioned. Fai came to work every day, and worked on the bugs in the project. But he couldn’t get that day, that night out of his mind. The things he’d found on the watch (which he had hidden in his pocket all the time), the stories he’d heard from those protestors. He couldn’t meet Sakura’s eyes, not that anyone noticed. He couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. 

What if they were right? What if Ashura _was_ selling information? What would Fai do if he was? What was Fai doing now? 

He didn’t really know. 

Days later, Fai hadn’t been even questioned. The police hadn’t contacted him, and Ashura only gave him sympathetic looks, and messages, so he let down his guard a little. Those people had obviously been mistaken. There was no conspiracy, and if there was, it wasn’t anything more than stealing a little bit of money, or something. Nothing _really_ bad. Right? 

A small part of him told him that his brother was killed over this. There was something truly wrong, but it was easier to ignore as the days went by. 

Until, it wasn’t. 

Ashura visited him in his office. Not unheard of, though he usually called him to the larger managers suites at the top floor. Fai had been playing with Yuui’s watch, not in the programming, but just poking it back and forth across the surface of the desk. When his door hissed open, he jolted, and swept the watch under the desk, and onto his lap. He turned his head, to see Ashura smiling gently, like he always did. 

“Hello, Fai. Sorry to startle you,” he said. Fai shook his head. 

“Oh, no, you didn’t startle me.” 

Ashura nodded, coming in further to sit on the other side of his desk, and lean his elbows on the top. If he looked down, he’d be able to see Yuui’s watch, though slightly distorted through the glass tabletop, it might still be recognizable. Fai tried to shift so that it would fall between his legs. 

“I’m worried about you, Fai,” Ashura started off with, making him freeze. “You’ve been so sad since…” 

Fai leaned forward, to fold his arms on the desk, and finally let the watch fall to the chair underneath him. “I think that’s a little understandable, Uncle…” he murmured, avoiding his eyes. 

Ashura’s face softened in sympathy (that almost looked contrived, but his subconscious had no reason to think that, right?). “Of course, my dear. It’s only been a week, after all.”  
Fai’s throat tightened, and he shifted again, this time out of pure anguish. 

“I- I miss him so much,” Fai whispered, and Ashura nodded, reaching out to put a hand on top of his. He fingered along Fai’s watch, rubbing the face idly, like Fai and Yuui had done to him as children, back when the watch was just a watch. 

“I know,” he murmured. “You’ve worked through so much, just to lose him like that. It’s a true tragedy.” 

Fai nodded, but he was stiff, wishing Ashura would take his hand of his wrist. Ashura noticed, and looked up at him, a soft hurt around his eyes. 

“Fai, what’s the matter?”

Fai swallowed, and looked to the side, still resisting the stronger and stronger urge to pull away. The words from the watch, and Kurogane again flashed through his mind: about the conspiracy, and that he’d be killed if he went back. He hadn’t felt unsafe, he’d _never_ felt unsafe around Ashura, until this moment.

Fai turned back, mouth dry, and looked at Ashura in the eyes. 

“Ashura, what do you know about Yuui’s death?” 

A slight surprise fluttered through Ashura’s eyes, before they shuttered completely. The pale grey was as cold as he’d ever seen it. Fai felt fear suddenly rise up and clench his stomach. 

“Whatever do you mean?” Ashura asked, his voice completely normal sounding, soft and gentle. Was he acting? Could it be true? 

Fai tugged his hands out from under Ashura’s, leaning against the chair back. His eyes were going wide, he could feel it. 

“Ashura, you- ? Did you…?” he stuttered, not sure what he was saying, what he was asking. Ashura kept up his face of kind curiosity for a moment more, before it fell away, froze into a mask he’d never seen. It was as if his adopted uncle, that he’d known since he was a child, had never been there at all. 

Ashura took a breath, not standing, not even moving, but somehow looking more threatening than all of Kurogane’s posturing. 

“I’d hoped you wouldn’t find out about that, Fai. You were always my favorite.”

Fai gasped, and scrambled backwards, his fingers grabbing the watch from the chair. Ashura was watching him, and never before had his gaze felt like a hunter’s. His eyes bore into Fai’s as he backed into the closed door, his hand on the doorknob. How many times could his world fall apart, he wondered idly. 

“You, you killed Yuui,” Fai gasped, and Ashura rose, easy as ever. 

“Well, not me specifically. But, yes. I ordered it. You see, he was doing what you are now. Questioning.”

Fai couldn’t breathe. “You kill people,” he panted.

Ashura smiled, gently like always. 

“My dear boy, money can buy quite anything, including assassination. It’s been true for centuries.”

Fai watched Ashura, who was still sitting calmly, like they were just discussing their latest ideas for a project. Was this the company he’d been working for? Was this the man he’d been raised by? 

“Are you going to kill me?” Fai whispered, and Ashura smiled. 

“I will. One of these days,” he said casually. “Just like Yuui.” 

Fai, gasping, turned the doorknob, yanked open the door and fled. He wasn’t followed, but he didn’t dare look back either. 

~

Fai nearly tripped in the street, running as best he could when his breathing just wouldn’t even out. He considered calling a taxi, but that would use his watch, and he, he didn’t- Ashura had- 

He’d kill him. He said he’d kill him at any time. How-? 

Fai shook his head, gripped Yuui’s watch tighter, and ran. 

He couldn’t go home, couldn’t go to anyone’s house that he knew, so he ran the direction of the lower city, down the streets, and through a staircase that didn’t have a security checkpoint. He probably looked insane, wild eyed and running through the streets with the rain beginning to drip down through the upper city. 

Fai felt too exposed out here. Too alone. Defenseless. He scooped up a twisted length of wire with sharp edges from a trash pile.

Finally, gasping, he made it to the Daidouji, the only place he could think of that wasn’t just hiding in a corner, waiting for Ashura to kill him. It was dark in the building. It was early in the day yet, and no one was out because of the dirty rain, and Fai shivered even though it was muggy. It nearly always was muggy on the ground level, and the rain that trickled down was thick with pollution.  
He stood outside it for a long time, before walking up to try the door. 

Locked. 

Fai collapsed against the polished wood, his breath sobbing out. What would he do now? What would happen to him? What-?

“Excuse me, Fai-san?” a voice said behind him, and Fai flipped around, the wire held out. It was cutting his hand, but he didn’t care. Fear gusted with his breath. 

“Stay back!” he shouted, and then Fai blinked the dirty mist out of his eyes to see the young man from the meeting he’d crashed, the solemn one, Sakura’s boyfriend. 

“Easy,” he said, like Fai was a skittish horse. “I’m Syaoran, do you remember me?” 

Fai didn’t let the wire drop, but he eased his grip on it a little. Blood dripped down of his clasped fingers. 

“I remember you.” 

“You’re in danger,” Syaoran said. 

“I’m aware of that,” Fai replied, still panicky. 

Syaoran huffed, a noise that was still intended on relaxing him, Fai could tell. 

“I’ve come to take you somewhere safe. Will you go with me?” Syaoran said. Fai glanced around the street, and then nodded shortly. Syaoran lowered his hand, and Fai lowered his wire. 

“I’m going to keep this,” he said, however, not wanting to lose that security. Syaoran nodded.

“That’s fine.” Then Syaoran hesitated. “I’ll need your watch, though.”

Fai lifted the wire again. “Why?” 

“They can pinpoint your location. I need to disable the gps.” Syaoran explained this like he was a child, but Fai didn’t have it in him to be offended or even suspicious anymore. He dropped the wire, and lifted the left hand where his watch was, and let Syaoran take it off. He flipped open the back, and tinkered around in the inside with two watchmakers tools, flipping one knob. Fai didn’t work much with the physical mechanics of the watches, and found himself looking closely as Syaoran poked his tiny screwdriver into the cavity. 

Syaoran noticed him watching, and pointed at what he’d done. “That’s the tamper alert. You have to flip that before you can do anything else, or you’ll really bring them down on you.”

Then Syaoran pulled out a blockish handheld device with a screen and a pad of buttons on the front. He took the watch, and attached it to a cable from the back, and began typing. Fai watched the screen as it pulled up the coding, but Syaoran wasn’t using code he was familiar with. In fact, it looked so outdated that Fai hadn’t seen it outside of period movies. 

“What are you doing?” 

Syaoran had the tip of his tongue poking out of his teeth, tapping quickly. “They don’t have security against the old coding. It’s not legal to have the gps off, and you’re not supposed to be able to flip that switch, but with this I can get around the wall, and turn it off. Which prevents anyone from pinpointing your location. In some implants, I turn on a disguise feature, that reroutes your location to different places around the city, like your work or house, to hide the fact that your gps is false. Sakura’s is programed like that. Yours, I think we’ll just turn off. They won’t believe the false programming.”

“Won’t they know I was here when you turned it off?” Fai asked, looking around the front step of the Daidouji. Syaoran shook his head. 

“This place has a scrambler installed. No one who is actually here, ever looks like they’re here.”

“That’s amazing,” Fai peered at the screen of the handheld, while Syaoran detached his watch, and handed it back. Fai fastened it back on, feeling the watch and the implant sync up like always, in a tingle of nerves. 

“Ready?” Syaoran then asked, and Fai nodded. 

He followed him around the side of the building, and to a _really_ old fashioned truck, the kind with the square refrigerated back. Fai almost laughed getting in. 

“Will this even work?”

Syaoran gave him a look, and patted the steering wheel, before starting it and yanking the stick into gear. Fai had never seen anyone drive a stick shift- almost no one drove anymore at all, these days, at least not up in the main city. Still, Syaoran proved to be quite adept, and they moved down the back streets.

They pulled up in front of a low building, huddled under the towering beams that led to the upper city. Fai wondered where above him was his loft apartment. Would he ever go back there? 

Syaoran got out of the car, and gestured for him to follow, so Fai did, feeling apprehensive. The rain had mostly stopped, and everything was warm and misty, and it gave Fai sweaty chills. 

“This way,” Syaoran said, pointing at the building. Now Fai could see that it was a shop front, a animal clinic of all things. The windows were dark, hung with fabric or curtains and the few people hurrying to and fro seemed hushed and scared for some reason. 

Fai hung back. “I don’t think I want to go in there,” he murmured, smiling uneasily. Syaoran looked solemn. To be honest, he’d never seen him look different. 

“You need to get this done,” Syaoran said. “No matter what you plan to do after this, you need the implant gone.” 

Fai started, and looked at his wrist. He’d put his watch back on, but he could still see the silvery wires shimmer just under his skin above it. Take it out? But, he’d never seen that happen before? It wasn’t supposed to be possible, with how well the surgeons grafted it onto his nervous system when he was a child. 

“But-” 

“Oi, you asking to get caught out there?” 

A new voice jumped into their conversation. A gruff, angry sounding voice that belonged to a red eyed man as big as a house and just was wooden. Kurogane. 

Fai looked up at him, and broke into a half laugh. “Oh, Kuro-chan! I didn’t know you would be here? Well,” Fai shrugged. “I didn’t know that _I_ would be here, after all.” 

Kurogane ‘tch’ed, and crossed his arms. “You couldn’t find a gag for his smart mouth?” Kurogane asked Syaoran, and Fai pretended to be flattered. 

“Ah! Syaoran-kun, did you hear? He called me smart~!” 

Fai’s quick heart beat was calming, even as Kurogane’s temper rose. At least Kurogane’s reactions were somewhat predictable, and oh so fun. 

“Oi, what'd you let him do to himself?” Kurogane suddenly demanded, looking at his hand. Fai was still holding the twisted wire, a pathetic attempt at protecting himself, and his hand was bleeding. 

Fai looked down at his hand almost curiously, even though it hurt. 

Syaoran shrugged. “He wanted to keep holding it. I wasn’t going to take it from him.” 

Kurogane growled again. Fai was beginning to think that was his default noise. 

“You’re lucky I have some tetanus shots in stock,” he said, turning to go back inside. He waved his arm, the left one and Fai again saw a flash of that scar he’d felt. “Get in here before we all get soaked.” 

Fai was herded into the building by Syaoran, though his stomach was twisting. Shots? And Syaoran was talking about removing his implant, but surely he didn’t mean _here_? 

Kurogane led them into the front room of the clinic, as Syaoran locked the door behind them, and set up some alarm system that looked like it was a hundred years old. He noticed him watching, and gave him a half smile. 

“It’s not very advanced, but it’ll at least tell us if someone’s trying to get in,” he said, arming the system with a beep. Fai nodded, supposing that was meant to make him feel safer, but he mostly just felt like it would also keep him in pretty effectively. 

“Oi, Fai, or whatever you idiot’s name is,” Kurogane called, from further in the building, “Let’s get started.” 

Fai took a breath, and then pouted. “Idiot’s not a nice name to call someone, Kuro-wawa!” 

“Yeah, well, neither is -wawa, but you just did it,” Kurogane grumbled. Fai pulled on a grin. 

“Would you prefer Kuro-cute? It suits you, I think,” he fluttered. Kurogane turned red. 

“No!” he yelled, and Fai let out a laugh. Syaoran looked mildly alarmed at the two of them, but Fai didn’t care. All this chatter was stopping him from walking forward into what he was sure would be the examination room of the clinic. And he very much didn’t want to go in there. 

“Would you get in here?!” Kurogane yelled again, and Syaoran gave him a little push, and then he was through the door. As he’d thought, it was a linoleum lined room with a metal table, and instruments laid out for a surgery. On him. Fai dug his heels in. 

“On second thought, I _really_ would prefer not being here, so I’m going to go-” 

Syaoran's hands were on his elbows, keeping him from moving backwards, and that only set off a bit of a panic, no worries. He buckled, and sank to the floor, holding his arms around himself. 

“No, I don’t want- you’re not cutting into me, you-” 

He gripped the implant wrist in his hand, knowing that inside was the thing that could draw Ashura to him, that labeled him a dead man. These people were offering a way to live. To be free of that, if on the outside of society. They had asked nothing in return, but still Fai couldn’t move, his breathing too quick. 

Kurogane was making an impatient noise, and Syaoran was kneeling next to him, but all Fai wanted was Yuui. He just wanted Yuui back, and his life back to the way it was. 

Syaoran laid a gentle hand on his back, whispering to him. “You’ll die. Fai, they’ll kill you,” and he _knew_. He’d seen the look in Ashura’s eyes. But- 

Then, powerful legs stomped over, and Kurogane crouched in front of him, pulling up his sleeve to fully expose that scar. Fai looked at it against his will. He could see how the left wrist was knotted with a line of scar tissue, right under the butt of the hand. The lines then twisted back up his arm, like the tentacles of an octopus. Or the silvery wires in Fai’s wrist. 

“Look. _This_ is because I didn’t get it taken out. My parents died because they wouldn’t get implants, but I, I got one, unthinking. I was a medical student, and it made sense. It almost killed me. They can find anyone anywhere, and they swarmed me with security when I started looking into their deaths. I was lucky, I understood enough anatomy to tear it out without damaging my hand too badly, and they missed me by seconds. Luckily, Tomoyo found me and took me in soon after, which is why I work for her taking implants out of idiots like you. That’s probably what happened to Yuui, and that’s what will happen to you as soon as they get the paperwork together. We _have_ to take it out of you.” 

Fai listened to the story, lifting his eyes from the horrible scar to look at Kurogane’s face. He still looked angry, he always did, but he also looked ernest. Like he actually cared if Fai lived. Why did the look seem far more real than Ashura’s had, that last time (and probably every time), that this man that he’d met twice would look more concerned over his safety than the person who’d raised him from childhood? 

Fai bit his lip, still looking at Kurogane’s eyes, and then glanced down again. 

“You’ve practiced since then, right? I mean, no offense, but you didn’t do a terribly good job there,” Fai said, pushing the line of decency, even for how rude he’d been all along to him. Kurogane, for the first time, gave him a grin. It was fierce and dangerous, and … well, kind of alluring. 

“I got better,” he said. 

Fai hesitated a moment longer, and then nodded. 

~

“It’s actually a relatively simple surgery,” Syaoran explained. After Fai’s bleeding hand was wrapped up by Kurogane’s big rough hands, he helped him lie down on the table. Fai hadn’t even had to change his clothes., he simply rolled his sleeve up to expose his full forearm. There were restraints, but no one moved to put them on him quite yet. “The implant itself is just under the surface of the skin, a tiny flat chip. No big deal to slide out. It’s the wires that people think are the impossible part, and they _are_ tricky. They’re wrapped around the nerves in your upper forearm, but they’re not grafted like people think, so if you’re careful, you can get them unattached without nerve damage.” 

Fai nodded, swallowing against a dry throat. Kurogane was swabbing off the length of his arm, and now Syaoran was placing the restraint only around his chest, and upper arm, the one that was being worked on. At his hand, he put one of the loops in his palm for him to grip. 

“You should try to stay as still as possible, but you shouldn’t feel much anyway.” 

Kurogane, looking very professional in a scrub top, mask and gloves, pulled out a needle from his tray. Fai swallowed. 

“Needles? How very barbaric…” he stammered. Kurogane huffed. 

“Implants took away the need for needles for the most part, since you could just get your shots through recorded frequencies in the programming.” Fai knew that. There was a whole industry on substance frequencies, where the actual drug or vitamin can be programmed in in a sequence of vibrations, instead of having to be there physically, but your body takes it in the same way. Fai’s much used caffeine frequency was an example of that. “Now that you won’t have it, you should get used to this.” He dabbed some antiseptic on his upper arm, and pressed the needle there without the slightest warning. It went in with a sharp sting, and Fai stiffened and glared at him. 

“You didn't even give me a one-two-three!” he whined, and Kurogane snorted. 

“You brought that one on yourself. That was the tetanus shot for your stunt with the wire. You don’t know where that thing’s been.” 

Fai pouted, and then frowned when Kurogane prepared another needle. “ _Another_ one?”

Kurogane met his frown with a fierce glare. “This one is a local anesthetic. It’s so it won’t sting at all while I do your surgery, now shut up.” 

“It’s already stinging, Kuro-pon!” 

Kurogane rolled his eyes heavenward at his baby voice. “God, I wish this required anesthesia!” 

Syaoran, who was assisting, and wearing gloves and a mask as well, shook his head. “We wouldn’t be able to use anesthesia anyway. It’s too dangerous to put someone under without a trained anesthesiologist.”

“I know that, kid,” Kurogane said, sounding exasperated all round. It somehow comforted Fai a bit. 

Kurogane took a deep breath, and looked at Fai in the eye, suddenly serious and not at all annoyed. 

“Ready?” 

Fai watched him, wondering if he could trust this man, whom he’d just met last week. He hadn’t been able to trust Ashura, who’d raised him. Yuui, his twin, had lied to him up until he’d died. Kurogane, though, had only ever told him the truth. He remembered the warmth of his arms as he held him up, how he just wanted to hide his face in his chest, and decided if nothing else, that feeling was trust enough for this. He nodded.

Kurogane returned it, exchanged a look with Syaoran, and began. 

Fai didn’t at all remember the surgery to put it in. He had been six or seven when it became mandatory for children to have the implants, even if they didn’t have to wear watches. He’d been scheduled for surgery the same day as Yuui, and he remembered wondering where he was as he was put under. When he woke, he and his brother were in beds next to each other, with matching bandages that healed in days. 

He’d remember this surgery. It didn’t hurt, exactly. He barely felt it when Kurogane made the first slice, right across the important veins in his wrist, but barely deep enough to bleed. The chip wasn’t far in at all, and Fai almost wished he wasn’t lying flat, so he could see it. Then, he banished the image, as a wave of nausea made him break out in a sweat.

Syoaran, holding his shoulders, and watching Kurogane with sharp eyes, spared a glance down and dabbed at his forehead with a rag. 

It got truly unnerving when Kurogane started edging tools inside the cut, to unpluck the wires from his nerves. He could _feel_ things moving around, under his skin, but nothing hurt. It was like there were snakes, or worms, crawling inside him, and Fai clenched the edge of the table with his other hand to avoid trying to claw them out. 

Kurogane was contentrating, but met his eyes for a moment over his mask. The red eyes were unreadable, but Fai still drew some comfort from them, and he took a deep breath. 

Then, there was a sharp _sting_ up his arm, and into his spine, sending Fai stiff, a gasp escaping his throat. Kurogane jerked his hands back as well, startled himself. 

“Did- did you do that on purpose?” Fai panted, but Kurogane was looking at Syaoran. A stronger shock rippled through him, and Fai tried not to move. 

“What’s happening?” Syaoran asked, and Kurogane bent back to his arm, movements hurried now. 

“They know we’re doing this,” Kurogane said. “Didn’t you disable the tamper setting?”

Syaoran nodded, and Kurogane growled. 

“It shouldn’t be setting off anything, then. Could this be...?” Kurogane kept his head down, working quicker, but Fai was still feeling what felt like pulsating waves traveling up and down his body in red hot jabs. He tried and failed at not making a noise, a horrible sound choking out of his mouth. He weighed and Syaoran threw himself down on top of him, trying to hold him still, but Fai wasn’t nearly tied down enough. 

“A kill switch,” Syaoran said, his voice bucking along with Fai’s twisting body. The pain was growing. He caught a whiff of burned meat, and plastic. 

“Those aren't supposed to exist,” Kurogane ground out. He had an elbow down on Fai’s elbow, holding his forearm down. The wires weren’t even halfway wriggled out of his skin, and if he went too fast… would Fai end up looking like Kurogane, with a twisted mass on his wrist? 

“If he was so close to Ashura… there could have been other tamper protocols, ones I didn’t anticipate.” 

“Was he that high up? Yuui said he was just a coder.” 

Syaoran shook his head, bearing down stronger. Kurogane worked harder. 

Fai’s pain was ramping up, and he lost track of their conversation, as a shock wave straightened every nerve in his body. He smacked the back of his head on the table, arching his back, and choking on a scream. His free hand clawed at the air. 

“Hold him down, dammit!” 

“I’m trying!” 

Fai’s throat finally unlocked enough for a scream that tore his throat raw, but it didn’t ease the pain. It got worse. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see. Everything was red star bursts, and then he lost himself. He could hear the others speaking. 

“We’re losing him! Kurogane-san, pull out, the electricity! You’ll get killed too!” 

Kurogane didn’t reply, and off in the distance, Fai wondered why. 

“Kurogane!” 

Then all was blessed, blessed blackness. 

~

Fai woke not long after, not nearly long enough after. There was noise, and pain, and the smell of burning, though Fai couldn’t see any fire. He was being carried, slung over Kurogane’s shoulder, and with his left wrist pinched under his body. It hurt, and Fai squirmed. 

“Shit, don’t wake up now,” Kurogane hissed. 

Some more of the surroundings came to Fai. The room wasn’t lit with bright white lights anymore, instead it was dark, with red and blue flashes. Police lights? Syaoran was gone, and Kurogane was panting, like he too was in pain. 

They skidded around a corner, and then crouched in the dark, in a kitchen of sorts, but Kurogane didn’t seem to have anywhere else to run, especially while lugging around Fai. He tried to wiggle again, to see if he could stand on his own, but his limbs felt uncontrollably shaky, and his arm, god his arm was in agony. He could feel the seeping, warm, dampness which meant it was bleeding a lot more, and it _burned_.

“Ah!” he gasped, and then clamped his lips shut, just as Kurogane put a hand across his mouth. 

“Quiet,” 

“Sorry, Kuro-sama,” he breathed against Kurogane’s hand. He noticed the burned smell was stronger now, and Kurogane was still wearing the latex gloves. The reason for that became clear as he went cross eyed, and saw that the tips were all melted to his skin. Reddened blisters bubbled under a layer of blackened plastic. Fai gasped again, unable to help speaking again quietly. “Your hands-!” 

“Your arm is in worse shape, so shut up.” 

There were people in the building, coming closer and pounding on the upper levels. Fai shifted, looking up as best he could, and then turning his head towards Kurogane. What were they going to do? How would they get away in this?

Then, behind them, the wall opened. Sakura poked her head out, and waved when she saw them. Kurogane moved towards the hole, and dumped Fai through, before glancing back just in time for a pair of masked and armored men to come running into the kitchen, bearing a gun that looked better suited for a battlefield. 

They shouted and aimed their guns at Kurogane, and Fai, raised up on his elbows, bit back a yell of alarm, before Kurogane dove through the hole as well, and it slammed shut. The gunfire rang out against the opposite side of the wall, that now looked seamless, unopenable, but nothing broke through for the moment. 

The sound of their breathing filled the dim corridor. Their only light came from an LED lamp that Sakura held, and with it, Fai could just make out the shapes of the others, and his own forearms. He could see a white bandage around his left one, and now that they weren’t running for their lives, the pain was coming back, making it hard to breathe. It was bleeding through the gauze, he could see, and his head was growing light. 

Kurogane turned to Sakura, also breathing heavily. Fai remembered he was in pain too; his fingers were all burned…

“Where do we go? I’ve been made, and so has that idiot, not that we didn’t know that already.” 

Sakura looked grim. “She’s got a house for you, but I don’t know how long you’ll have to stay there,” she said.

Down the corridor, Syaoran appeared, beckoning, and Kurogane scooped up Fai again, holding him easily like a sleepy three year old. 

“I can walk,” he whispered, but Kurogane only ‘tch’ed. 

“You’ve lost way too much blood for that,” he said, and Fai frowned against Kurogane’s neck. 

“What do you mean? What happened?” 

They were walking, following Syaoran, and Sakura’s bobbing light. Kurogane took a breath, and glanced at Fai. 

“The implant in your arm reacted. There shouldn’t have been another tamper alarm, but it seemed like there was another layer of security, a kill switch. Basically, someone told your watch to emit a series of surges of electricity. They would slowly damage your tissues and cause enough pain that your heart wouldn’t be able to take it, and you’d die. It began as soon as I started to take it out.”

Fai gaped. “Your fingers…” 

Kurogane grunted. “I kept trying to get it out of you. I got burned.” 

“You saved me?” Fai asked, and then tears flooded his eyes. It had hurt, so much, and he was alive and it still hurt. Not just his arm, but his soul, his heart. It was torn in two. No, it was missing half of what it had been. Yuui was still dead. If Fai had died, could he have seen him again? “You should have let me die,” he choked, and Kurogane looked down on him in alarm. 

“The hell are you talking about-?” 

“We’re here.” 

Kurogane, grunting in pain or annoyance, turned away from Fai’s face towards Syaoran, who’d spoken. Fai blinked away his tears, to look around. 

Here, was an exit to the tunnel. Outside was a delivery truck, with a peeling picture of someone smiling, advertising whatever it was it was trying to sell. It came off rather creepy. Fai was struggling with his pain, with breathing evenly, and with Kurogane’s gaze, and so as soon as he was laid out on the truck’s floor, on someone’s jacket, he let the first bump throw him into oblivion. 

~

The safe house didn’t feel nearly far enough away from the wailing sirens and policemen who were searching for them, Kurogane felt. Sakura drove, and it was kind of dichotomous to see such a small girl operate the massive truck, except that it was Sakura, and when her face drew down in determination, she could do anything. Syaoran helped him get Fai into the back, and then they were off, and Fai was quickly out again. 

Syaoran checked on his breathing, and then threw Kurogane a look, disapproval on his face. 

“What was that back there?” he demanded, in a way he wouldn’t have before, when he and Sakura had come to their group of rebels as teenagers. He’d been so quiet and shy, and Kurogane felt a burst of pride in him. He’d come a long way and gained a solidness he hadn’t had before. However, he was right. 

God. 

That had been bad. The worst extraction he’d ever seen or done, and that included his own. Fair had been burning from the inside out, screaming more horrible sounds than he’d ever heard. The wires had been live, inside the flesh of his arm. He was lucky his heart hadn't stopped.

Kurogane looked at the tips of his fingers, and hissed. He didn’t dare peel off the gloves, not yet, but it would suck a lot when he did. 

“His security levels were much higher than we thought,” Kurogane said. “They knew we were taking it out.” 

“It was killing him. It would have killed you too, if you’d let that go on any longer,” Syaoran said, voice flat. 

Kurogane frowned. 

“What, are you saying I should have let him die?” 

Syaoran gestured to his hands, sitting half curled and agonizing in his lap. 

“That looks bad, Kurogane-san. Really bad. I can’t tell from here if the blackness is the plastic or your skin, but you might have permanent damage.” 

“We won’t know that until you examine them, so no point in arguing about it now.” 

“Kurog-”

“I said, drop it. I wasn’t gonna just let him die.” 

Kurogane hunched over his hands, and ignored anymore looks from the kid. 

The safe house was only a few minutes after that, a single story run down building that from the front looked like a second hand store or a pawn shop. Syaoran directed Sakura to the side entrance, and let them in through the rolling loading bay door, sliding it up with a clatter, leaving a gap only a couple feet high. 

He stepped off the truck, and reached out for Fai’s prone boy, dragging it through the gap and disappearing into the building.  
Sakura looked back over the divider between the front cab and the back of the truck. 

“Are you alright, Kurogane-san?” she asked, her eyes worried. Kurogane had never been able to snap at her like he did with everyone else, and so just grunted. 

Syaoran appeared then, and helped Kurogane through as well. He couldn’t exactly crawl. His hands were throbbing, and _really_ needed medical attention, which luckily Syaoran was decently trained in, even if his bedside manner left something to be desired. Not that Kurogane could talk. 

Inside, Kurogane saw that it really was a second hand curios shop, with outdated tech, and old furniture and clothes fighting for space on the cluttered floor. It was an odd place to consider a safe house, but he supposed their benefactor knew what she was doing. She tended to know far more than she should. 

Syaoran had laid Fai on a display bed, a larger one with ornate head and foot boards, and what were probably dusty as hell comforters. The area they were in was tucked in the back, with large shelves hiding the interior, but they still probably wouldn’t be able to have lights on, or anything that would attract a lot of notice. 

Sakura started the truck outside again, and drove away, while Syaoran moved over to a table, and spread out his emergency medical kit (that he’d luckily swept up in the chaos at the old clinic - Kurogane hadn’t gotten a hold of his, and it was probably confiscated by now).

“Let’s get your hands looked at,” he said, and Kurogane moved over gratefully. 

Syaoran was skilled, if not experienced after the tutelage under Kurogane. He’d been assisting him for the four years since he and Sakura had come to their group, and he could do basic first aid and wound care with no problems. Kurogane wished he wouldn’t have to put Fai back together all by himself, but with his fingers the way they were, he wouldn’t be able to do the stitches Fai would definitely need on the skin of his forearm.

However, they needed to get the burned plastic off his fingertips first, and cool those burns, because Kurogane’s pain was growing. 

“Well, it looks like the burns to your fingers look worse than they are,” Syaoran said a while later, having carefully snipped and peeled away the ruined latex. “They’ll blister on a few, but I think you’ll be alright, luckily,” Syaoran said, pointedly while smoothing on burn salve. The instant coolness was a relief. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Kurogane said, flexing his already bandaged hand. They’d heal. He glanced at the bed nearby, where Fai was spread out, still unconscious. He needed attention too, badly. 

Once Kurogane was bandaged, Syaoran moved over to Fai, and unwrapped the hasty bandaging on his wrist, to check if the bleeding had stopped. Kurogane watched, and saw the nasty wound, a long jagged split in the skin, with shiney burns edging the cut.

“The burns are blistered, but there’s no charred skin, which is good,” Syaoran said, setting Fai’s arm down. Fai was out still, and didn’t move, though the cleaning would hurt, he was sure. Kurogane nodded, glad of it. 

Syaoran quickly cleaned the wound, and Fai moaned but didn’t wake up, and then closed it with a few stitches on the less damaged skin, before wrapping the wrist and laying him back again. 

“He needs to sleep,” he said. “And so do you.”

Kurogane glanced around, not sure how much to trust his new surroundings. He’d been in the animal clinic for years, treating actual animals, and people who couldn’t see a doctor, and he knew the place and its securities like the back of his hand. The alarms that had gone off when it got stormed today were ones he’d put in place for that very reason, and he’d dug the tunnel they’d escaped through. Their benefactor wasn’t one to forget details or cut corners, but he still wanted to check. 

“How’s the security?” 

Syaoran nodded, gesturing. “Two layers of alarms for unauthorized entrances or exits - most of the doors just ring if they’re disturbed. The front windows are bullet proof glass, and the shelves have been set up so you shouldn’t be in line of sight of them without walking up to the front. You’ll have walkie talkies to communicate, and someone in another location closeby will always be listening.”

Kurogane raised an eyebrow. “Constantly?” 

Syaoran shrugged one shoulder. “You’re important, and I think she wants to know how much Fai knows. Hopefully he’ll help us.”

“Hn,” Kurogane grunted, looking at the skinny, blond bastard. The bed was too big for him, he was just a pale strip against the dusty comforter. How much did he know, and how much would he tell? The man had seemed so distraught - would he be able to handle the new life he’d been tossed into?

~

When Fai opened his eyes for the second time that day (maybe? was it the same day?) things were much calmer. His left arm was numb from the elbow down, which felt much better, but did make him a little anxious.The first thing he noticed was that it was quiet, and he was no longer being carried or held up, but was instead lying across an ornate bed. The bed was freestanding, in the middle of what looked like a secondhand store, making him think he was sleeping in one of the displays… there was another bed angled towards him, and sitting up on, leaning on the headboard, was Kurogane, fast asleep.

Fai could have poked him, teased him with silly nicknames, but he didn’t have the energy. His body felt heavy, and exhausted, like he’d been fighting for his life. He pulled in a breath, and sighed out, blinking slowly, trying to wake himself up. 

His slight snuffle made Kurogane stir, and he sat up, letting his legs hang over the edge of the bed. He looked over at Fai, and visible relaxed in what looked like relief, even though his face was still drawn in a frown. 

“You’re awake,” Kurogane muttered, “You had a fever.” Kurogane rubbed his eyes with his wrist. Fai noticed he’d gotten his fingers bandaged, the gloves removed. Good, he hated the idea that he’d hurt him. 

Then, Fai remembered the last thing he’d said to Kurogane, that he’d worked so hard, and hurt himself, just to keep Fai alive. Now, he’d apparently exhausted himself too, and Fai felt a seething anger rise up. It was bitter behind his teeth, raw and more nasty than he’d ever felt in his life. This wasn’t annoyance at a coworker who was late on a project, or miffed at being told to wait when he had an appointment. Nothing before in his life had made him _feel_ as strongly as the last few days, and since Yuui’s death... anger, betrayal, resentment all were intensified. 

Fai’s anger swept away the last of his tiredness, and he turned to look at the other man, who was beginning to check him over with his eyes, living up to his doctor title. Wait, hadn’t he said he had been a medical _student_? He’d let a man who wasn’t even a doctor cut into him, and _save his life_ and he hadn’t even _asked_ …  
Fai was getting worked up, so he calmed down, finally opening his mouth to respond. His pulled his face into a sweet smile, hiding the dark feelings. 

“Good morning, Kurogane,” he said softly. 

Kurogane’s face was startled, but he quickly let it fall into his typical frown. 

“Thought you had a whole list of nicknames for me?” he asked, but Fai ignored the question, sitting up carefully. His impression of the room as being a store was correct - it was a warehouse size room full of random furniture, racks of clothes and toys, all permeated with a musty smell.

Fai swallowed, then moved his eyes down to look himself over. He was still in the clothes he’d been wearing to the office (not exactly business attire, but stylish) and they now were spattered with dried blood and impossibly rumpled. His wrist was bandaged thickly, with clean bandages now, and he couldn’t feel a thing until he tried to move the tips of his fingers. They moved, but it also sent a sting of pain down his arm. 

“Ah,” he gasped, touching the bandaging lightly, holding himself back from grabbing it. Kurogane, recovered from his apparent shock at him remembering his full name, reached over and pulled his hand away. 

“Don’t move it, you idiot.” 

Fai snatched his right hand away, and moved to the edge of the bed, making Kurogane move back. 

“What happened?” he demanded. His voice came out softer than he’d meant, like he didn’t have the strength to speak louder. Maybe he didn’t. His throat was killing him.  
Kurogane told him what he’d already told him, that they hadn’t expected the security levels in his arm, and nearly didn’t save him. Kurogane was moving his fingers gingerly, though, so Fai’s arm was clearly not the only casualty. 

But, other than his arm, he was feeling okay. Physically. Fai decided to sit up, and look around the room. Which turned out to be much larger than he’d thought. 

“What is this place?” he rasped. His voice had definitely felt those screams. 

“A safe house. No one should be able to find us here, not for a while at least, and not without a warning.” 

“What are we supposed to do here?” Fai asked, and Kurogane snorted. 

“Nothing. Just hide.” 

Fai frowned, feeling a surge of panic combined with annoyance. He didn’t _want_ to be stuck here with a giant brute, who’d cut into his arm, and dragged him away from his life, and then saved him from death. Fai wasn’t sure what he wanted, it wasn’t this. 

Breathing out slowly, Fai lay back down and turned around, curling on his side away from Kurogane’s eyes. Kurogane sighed behind him, getting the message.

“I’m gonna go look around. Stay here,” he said, getting up. No worries. Fai didn’t want to move again. 

~

The store they were staying in was full to the brim of useful items, and Kurogane decided to explore a little now that Fai’s fever had broken, and he understood where they were. Kurogane picked up a cart, and started throwing things in.They’d camped down in the furniture section, but there were rows of clothes, and books towards the front, so Kurogane picked up sweaters, and men’s socks, and a pair of soft sweats since Fai was in a pair of bloody jeans. There was a whole section on cooking ware and dishes, so once they got food, they’d have things to eat off of, and Kurogane took what they could use, including a standing stove that ran off electricity. A technology section held computers, and old DVDs, and some of the shiny VHS’ from when they’d made a comeback briefly. Kurogane didn’t take much from here, but he noted where a dusty flat screened desktop was, and kept two flashlights. 

He had some trouble picking up things, but Syaoran had done a good job at treatment, and as long as he didn’t move his fingers too much, he was okay.

There were sinks in the restroom, and a working fridge in the employee room. Kurogane made some plans about pushing the beds over towards the wall, near the door to the employee room, both to be close to the water, and to have a wall at their backs. Who was to know how long they’d be here, but at least they’d have most essentials.  
He filled a water bottle of tap water, and brought it, and everything else back to Fai. 

“Here,” he said, standing over Fai’s curled up body. He hadn’t moved, but Kurogane could see that his breathing was too quick to be that of a sleeping person. “Water. You’re dehydrated.”  
The promise of water lured him around, and Fai was already licking his lips to reach out for the bottle. He drank deeply, and then Kurogane took it back. 

“Mm,” he whined, but Kurogane shook his head. 

“You’ll make yourself sick. You’ve been out for a while.”

Fai looked up at him, eyes a little clearer, if still angry. 

“How long?” 

“Almost all day,” Kurogane said. “I found some things.”

Fai looked into the shopping cart, and scoffed. “Do those even still work?” he said, referring to the stove and flashlights, he assumed. Old tech still worked for the most part, so there was no need to be pretentious. 

“Probably. These are for you.” Kurogane handed him the clothes he’d found, softer ones and not ones covered in bloodstains. Fai took them, and looked down at himself. 

“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped,” he murmured, and shifted to the opposite side of the bed, turning his back to Kurogane. “Where can I change?” 

Kurogane pointed. “There’s a restroom along that wall. I’m going to try to move the beds over that way.”

Fai nodded, and unsteadily made his way over without saying a word.

 

Towards the evening there was a knock on the metal rolling door, and then it started to open. Kurogane tensed, but it was only their benefactor’s flaily assistant. 

“Hello, sorry for the late hour!” he said, ducking under the door. He was holding a couple of big bags, and Kurogane could smell the hot food from here. Even Fai, who’d been moping since he woke, perked up a little. 

“About time, this guy lost too much blood to be fasting all day,” Kurogane said, gesturing to Fai, who _was_ pale as death. The pain was returning, but Fai hadn’t mentioned it. Kurogane would have to take a look at it after dinner, and he hoped there were painkillers in that bag. 

The boy, thin and black haired, with wire rimmed glasses, turned and put his hands on his hips. 

“It takes a lot of planning to put two people in an emergency safe house. We’re doing the best we can!” he said.  
Fai was looking at him, and frowning. 

“Watanuki-kun? Aren’t you Yuuko-san’s assistant, of Ichihara Resources?”

Watanuki nodded, grumpily. “Yeah, and you’re that annoying coder for Ashura’s company.”

“What are you doing here?” Fai asked, eyes wide. 

Watanuki rolled his own, and set the bags down on Fai’s bed. 

“Wow, you really didn’t bother explaining anything to him? he asked, turning towards Kurogane, but didn’t wait for a response before turning back to Fai. “Who do you think is funding this whole thing? Yuuko-san is behind most of the rebellion.” 

Another revelation to shake Fai’s world. Kurogane ignored them both, and looked in the bag. There was a dish full of what looked like hot soup, and lots of rations that they could keep for a while. And pain pills, thank god. Kurogane started to take them out, while Fai gaped at Watanuki, and then laughed, brittle. 

“This whole things goes so much deeper than I thought!” he chortled, “That even Watanuki-kun would be wrapped up in this big bad rebellion.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean? _Even_ me?” Watanuki protested. Fai smiled, and shook his head. 

“Nothing at all, Watanuki-kun, you’re just cute when you get worked up~!” Fai teased, and the boy went red and grumbled. 

“Anyway, there’s food. Eat it.”

“You brought us food!” Fai interjected, and Watanuki ignored him. 

“And here,” he tossed Kurogane an old fashioned walkie talkie. “They won’t be able to trace that, and there will be someone within the distance at all times. We’ll keep you here for the next thirty days, and then reassess the situation.” 

Fai turned, surprise and displeasure flashing across his face.

“Thirty days? Project Soulmate is due to release a week after that,” Fai blurted.

Kurogane and Watanuki both looked at him. 

“You know the date?” Kurogane demanded, and Fai nodded slowly. 

“I wasn’t involved in it… but I heard it was coming out on June first for the public.” 

“Five weeks,” Watanuki murmured. “I had no idea it was that close.”

Kurogane and Watanuki exchanged a look. They both knew the significance of that, even if no one had explained it to Fai. If Ashura had a chance to sell the information, than the personal information of the public would be available for anyone to look at. The things someone could do with that. Targeted warfare, biological assassination, and countless other things.  
Fai watched them, looking confused, but Watanuki waved his questioning look away. 

“Well, I better get back. You know how Yuuko-san gets without her dinner, or especially her alcohol.” He made a face. “Enjoy! Let us know if you need anything!”  
He left, rolling the door shut behind him. 

Fai turned his attention to the dinner, carrying the bags over to a table top near the beds with his good hand. 

“Well, if we both know Watanuki-kun, we should both know what a good cook he is!” Fai declared, pushing the material of the bag around the rim of the covered dish the soup was in. He couldn’t manage to take it out with only the one hand, and Kurogane didn’t really want to move his own fingers all that much. Whatever, he managed. “What luck!” 

They dished out the soup in the bowls that Kurogane had found (wiping out the dust as best as they could) and eat quickly, agreeing for once that Watanuki’s hot soup was a miracle in what was now their fugitive life. 

~

After dinner, Kurogane insisted on taking a look at Fai’s arm. Fai agreed with a surge of nervousness. He’d been trying to ignore the heavily bandaged and painful wound; along with multiple other things, such as his brother’s death, Ashura’s betrayal, and the collapse of his world. On top of that was being stuck in this place with a companion who looked at him like he was about to break, and who’d saved his life and dragged him here. 

Fai didn’t think he wanted to die, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to live like this, without everything and everyone he’d had. There was a knot of bitterness at Kurogane inside him, and he wasn’t really sure why. It kept him from teasing him too much, like had been his impulse when they first met, and from calling him all those nick names. That part was probably a relief to the other man. 

It didn’t help that Fai’s arm was hurting. A lot. He didn’t argue when Kurogane sat him down, and started clumsily pulling on his bandages. His own fingers looked painful, not at all dextrous or deft, so Fai helped him take the layer of wrap around his arm. When the gauze was about to be peeled away, he squeezed his eyes tight. He didn’t want to see it. 

Kurogane huffed, and began working, dabbing and poking. It hurt, and Fai shifted until his other hand was gripping the seat of the chair he sat on. 

“Well, it looks alright. It’s already healing, though you’ll probably have scars. Not as bad as me, don’t worry.” 

Fai half smiled, eyes still closed. 

“I’ve never really had scars before,” he said. It was true, most medical care left none these days. “Will it make me look badass?” 

Kurogane scoffed. “You’re a noodle, I don’t think you could even be in the same room as badass.” 

Fai’s eyes popped open. “Rude! Take that back, Kuro-chan!” The nickname popped out, but Kurogane didn’t look overly surprised. 

“Don’t call me dumb names!” he snapped, his hands still busy. Fai, distracted, looked down without meaning to. Kurogane had tugged on gloves over the bandages, and was carefully cleaning the jagged red furrows along the length of his wrist. There was a deeper gash at the base of his wrist that bled sluggishly as Kurogane dabbed at it. 

The light was leaving them, and Kurogane had propped up the flashlight to supplement as the sun outside went down. Fai looked at Kurogane’s face, unreadable in the dimness. 

“What’s so wrong about the Soulmate Project?” Fai asked, breaking the silence. 

Kurogane paused, and looked up at him, his palm cupping the back of his wrist. 

“Haven’t you been listening?” Kurogane asked, his voice incredulous. “It’s terrifying to think about that that program could do.” 

Fai frowned, pushing down the rush of hurt (Kurogane didn't know, didn’t know that Fai had created that program) “But why?” 

“Why?” Kurogane watched him. “Think about it. This things takes everything about you, anything that’s quantifiable, and decides who you should love.” 

“What’s so wrong with that? People will find people they’re compatible with, people who they’ll get along with-”

“According to the program,” Kurogane interjected, voice firm. 

“But-” 

“People aren’t data points, Fai! You can’t just mix and match.” Kurogane snapped. “And now, all this information, that is supposedly everything about a person, is available for others to look at, and sell and use. And Ashura is going to sell that to the highest bidder, and you can bet whoever wants to buy it won’t have pure intentions. And Ashura’ll kill to keep that deal in place.” 

Fai couldn’t respond, not without saying things the creator only would know, things like ‘I didn’t want it to be sold,’ and ‘I only wanted to help people’. He pinched his lips closed, and let Kurogane finish cleaning his wound in silence. Then, he left the table and went to the bed he’d woken up in, and claimed as his own. The sheets were dusty, and nothing at all like his microfiber ones on his mattress at home, but he didn’t care, because at least it was soft and dark, and the painkiller dose he’d been given was kicking in enough for him to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

And so this strange, quiet, lonely life settled into something of a routine. The days went on, and Fai healed and ate Watanuki’s rations, and explored the store, and tried to ignore any reminder of Yuui. Kurogane spent the time doing whatever it was he did, which seemed to mainly fiddling with the old computers in the ‘tech corner’ and running on the treadmill. 

Fai wandered the aisles of the shop, looking at all the shabby items that had been on sale here. There was a lot to keep his interest, for the first few days. He ran his fingers over the drab clothes, tossing scarves or ridiculous looking coats on to try in front of a long mirror, smiling to himself. Fai browsed through the books, though he saved looking at them closer when he was more bored, as they seemed to be mostly self help, cookbooks, and how-to garden instructions. He wandered into the technology section, where it was all charmingly outdated, and then over to the area where the exercise equipment was all piled. He found Kurogane there, running on a treadmill that, amazingly, appeared to work fine. 

“Ah, Kuro-poo, do you like my scarf?” Fai asked him, coming over to hang over the safety bar, tossing the scarf over his shoulder. Kurogane looked over with a glare.

“I’m busy,” he said, his voice barely strained with the exercise. He was wearing a thin tee-shirt he’d probably found on a rack somewhere in here, since it had a sports team on it that Fai didn’t think had existed in a decade. 

“I commend you, Kuro-pipi. Exercise is part of a balanced lifestyle!” Fai chirped, idly admiring the cut of his shoulders as he ran.

“Why are you calling me that?” he demanded. 

Fai blinked, startled at the question. He didn’t honestly know. It was fun? His good mood abruptly vanished.

“No reason,” he slumped, dropping the scarf on the floor. “Sorry, Kurogane.” 

Kurogane lifted his eyebrows, a little taken aback, but Fai didn’t stay to chat any more. 

The next few days were a study in silence. Fai would try to keep up the chatter, talking to himself, or Kurogane (about his fascination with the old computers and tvs mostly, and how silly he looked wearing those big fat headphones, or that they should watch a movie since he got the vhs player to work) or even, on occasion, a cut off phrase to Yuui. He’d turn, and remember his twin would never be beside him again, and then he’d curl into the corner of the chaise lounge, and breathe the dusty cushions. 

The only times that were loud, or eventful were the nights, and not in any fun sort of way.   
Fai would have nightmares. Every night. About Ashura, about Yuui, and the most sickening thing was that most of them wouldn’t be far from the truth. He’d wake up with a gasp, and remember that Ashura really _had_ betrayed him, and Yuui really was dead, and he was in hiding with a grumpy, _silent_ man who’d saved his life, but seemed to hate him. 

Then one night, Kurogane was in his dreams as well. He was lying on a bed, and Kurogane bent over him, and kissed him, and the promise of pleasure made Fai gasp in surprise. Then, his wrist was laid open, and the gasps turned into noise of pain. Kurogane was working, hands bloody, trying to save him, but his fingers were burning, burning away at the tips. Fai felt horror and the echo of that pain he’d felt, when his implant was trying to kill him, and had to scream. 

He screamed until he was shaken awake. 

“Ah, huh?” he panted. Fai could feel himself covered in sweat, heart pounding like he’d just gotten too much caffeine through his implant, and Kurogane was leaning over him, like in his dream, and his face was an angry concern that probably only Kurogane could manage. 

“Hey, wake up,” he was saying firmly, and Fai blinked, and leaned back. Kurogane was close, and Fai recalled the first part of the dream, that kiss. He’d liked it, it was nice, but now he didn’t want to remember it. That would never happen. 

Fai shook himself, and got a hold of his thoughts and emotions, pulling away from Kurogane’s hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m fine, Kuro-chan,” he breathed, half teasing to try and calm himself down. “Sorry to wake you.”

Fai got up, and moved past Kurogane to head to the restrooms, where he could wipe off the cold sweat on his brow, and stop thinking about blood or kisses. 

~

Syaoran came to visit the next day, looking grave. Then again, when did the boy ever not look grave. It was hard to imagine the cheerful Sakura together with him, though Fai supposed they might compliment each other well. 

He sat down on a couch across from them (in the little approximation of a living room that Fai had shoved together, with a coffee table between them), and gave them looks of worry.

“Fai-san, you told Kimihiro that you knew the date of the release of Project Soulmate. It’s coming up, and we’ve made no progress in stopping it, or finding out more about it. Is there _anything_ you can tell us?” 

Fai tilted his head. “Kimihiro?” he questioned, while inside his stomach was twisting. He hadn’t told these people that he was the designer who came up with the project, who put it all together. He knew every facet of that program, and he’d put his heart and soul into it. But they all thought it was evil. 

Kurogane answered, “Watanuki’s first name.” 

“Ah.” 

Syaoran was still looking at Fai, the request heavy in his eyes. 

“Fai-san, we’re running out of time to stop this. You worked in the company, you have to know something?” 

Fai shook himself, and smiled lightly to himself, dropping his eyes to his lap. 

“Anything I know, surely my brother told you already. I am, well, was, a mere coder. Barely more than data entry.” 

Syaoran frowned. “But you know Ashura. Yuui had cut ties with him, but you were still close. Is there any information there-” 

Fai had stood up, fighting back some snarl of emotion, though he kept a pleasant smile on his face. “I’m sorry. I have nothing to give you.” 

He walked off, and he heard Syaoran apologizing to Kurogane to tell to Fai. Fai didn’t want to hear it, and so found himself in the toy corner, which he’d not ventured to before. The stuffed animals all gave off the same musty smell that the bedclothes did, but some of the action figures, and toys with moving parts were only dusty. Then Fai found a real dart board with a baggy full of darts. The tips were metal and sharp, and the board was little used. Fai set it up against the wall, and began throwing. He’d loved doing this, back in his office, when he needed to think, and these darts were good quality. He was getting bullseyes in no time. 

Fai’s mind was whirling with that same fear, that came whenever he thought about Ashura and the situation he’d ended up in. That his world was upside down, he accepted. That they wanted him to help take it down the rest of the way...that he couldn’t do. He wouldn’t hinder, but his memories of Ashura, of his childhood, didn’t let him help. His decision was firm. 

If he went further than that, and thought of how Ashura had been lying to him all these years, then his thoughts started to stutter, and he could no longer see his decision clearly. But the fact remained. He didn’t want to tell them what he’d been doing. He didn’t want to help. 

Fai returned later to the common area, to find Syaoran had left, and Kurogane was heating up the soup he’d brought over their small burner. Fai slunk over, and crouched on the couch, smelling the delicious smell - from Watanuki-kun again, no doubt. 

His right arm was pleasantly sore from the throwing, and so he draped it over his knees, and spoke, as Kurogane stirred the pot with a large spoon with a rooster head on the handle. 

“They do keep us well fed here,” he said, a light smile on his lips. Kurogane turned and narrowed his eyes at him. 

“You don’t want to help us, I get it,” Kurogane started, evidently bringing up something that had been on his mind. Fai stiffened, and surreptitiously leaned further back against the cushions, suddenly wishing he was back throwing darts. Kurogane was looking at him like he was a puzzle to figure out, and for all that Fai solicited his attention, suddenly those eyes were too much to meet. “What I don’t get is why. You obviously know something, you knew that date. But you won’t say anything.” 

Fai tried to pull his mask up, laughing lightly and waving a hand between them. 

“I told you, I don’t know anything-”

“Liar.” Kurogane’s eyes were hard, and Fai’s voice stopped coming out. He watched Kurogane, hoping his smile was still fixed where it should be. Kurogane was frowning, almost angry, but why he should be angry about this, Fai had no idea. After all, the two of them were practically strangers. 

“What? That’s not a nice accusation, Kuro-wawa,” Fai said, using his most childish nickname. Kurogane didn’t blink. 

“The only thing I can think of is that, if you don’t help us, then you can still claim that you were here against your will. That we kidnapped you, and forced you to take out the implant and everything. That way, you can still go back.” 

The words cut like ice, daggers freezing the heart of him. The words were true. Fai knew it. He wanted more than anything to go home. To go back to the way it was. He _ached_ for it.

Fai closed his eyes, and looked at Kurogane. He was staring at him, and again his eyes were too much. Fai looked away. 

“You can’t go back, you idiot,” Kurogane said. “They’ll never believe you.” 

Fai took a breath, and then glanced back at Kurogane. He knew his smile was gone, and his face felt stiff, cold. 

“Your soup is burning,” he said. Fai stood, and turned to go back to his dart board. He wasn’t hungry anymore. 

~

Late at night, weeks into the enforced imprisonment, Fai lay looking at the too high beams that made up the industrial ceiling. Behind his head, Kurogane was breathing slowly and deeply, on his own bed. They’d moved the beds against the wall, and the two beds were lined up headboard to headboard, which was the least awkward way they could both sleep comfortably without having to be away from the wall. 

It meant that Fai could hear every snuffle and breath that Kurogane took, and he could hear the nightmares Fai’d been having. He sighed, and put his hands against his face, rubbing against the skin. 

He just, he just wanted a distraction. There was nothing to do besides spiral down in his thoughts, and those hadn’t been pretty lately. 

Fai took a deep breath, and tried to think of something else. Anything else. Anything besides Yuui, or Ashura or the fact that this was his life now, bumming on someone else’s dime and decision, and unable to even set foot outside without risking his life. Sharing every bit of his space with this stranger who was quiet, and infuriating, but seemed to want him to live, and who responded when he teased him, and had a really nice jawline- 

Fai blinked. Well, it wasn’t untrue. Kurogane was handsome, and eye-catching; tall, dark and grim faced, but with strong arms and piercing eyes. Sometimes he still thought about the way his arms felt around him as he all but collapsed that night at the bar, when his world was crashing down, or the combination of anger and contentment when he’d woken up in Kurogane’s hold as they escaped from the clinic. He was warm, he was real, and Fai had never felt so far away from someone as he was just across the headboard. 

Fai slipped out of his bed, and just two feet down the wall, where Kurogane was laying on his back, his arm flung out. Fai could barely make out his shape, except that a bit of light came in the high warehouse windows, but he did look nice. 

Fai crawled up on the edge of the bed, kneeling, and waiting to see if Kurogane would notice him there. He did stir, moving his head towards Fai, his eyes glittering in the dimness. 

“Wha?” he murmured, then he sat up, tension in every line in his body. “What’s wrong?” his fingers were already reaching for his makeshift weapon, a baseball bat he kept laid out on the headboard. 

Fai shook his head, reaching forward to put a finger on Kurogane’s lips. 

“Sh, nothing’s wrong, Kuro-pip,” he chirped, quietly. Kurogane looked confused. 

“Then, what-?” 

Fai leaned forward, and pressed his lips where his finger had been, kissing Kurogane chastely, but for a long moment, trying to see if it could lead anywhere. He wanted it to lead somewhere. Not really because it was Kurogane, but just because it was someone. Someone warm. 

Kurogane made a surprised noise, angrily contorting his mouth under Fai’s, but then, did he? He _might_ have kissed back, for a split second. Fai was jolted out of the minute rejoicement, by Kurogane pushing him back harshly, so much so that Fai almost fell off the bed. 

“What the hell was that?” he demanded. Yelled. Fai stared at him. He didn’t know. He didn’t mean that. He wasn’t sure what he was asking for, but it wasn’t that, except that the rejection was making his throat tighten, and his chest pound. 

“Uh,” Fai said, and then turned, and fled. It was dark, and there weren’t many places he could go inside the building, but there were doors, and yes he wasn’t supposed to leave, but he _had_ to. 

~

Kurogane was confused as hell. He’d woken to Fai leaning over him, much like he had the other night, to wake Fai from a nightmare. Kurogane had briefly thought it was an enemy, and then that he himself had been having a nightmare, and that Fai was returning the favor. Then his finger had pressed against his lips, and it was cold. Fai’s lips, however, had been warm, and soft. Kurogane had frozen, in anger, in shock, and then he’d- 

Never mind. That idiot had run off, and now there was an alarm ringing, and his walkie talkie was bleeping. 

Kurogane swore, and scrambled up to grab the walkie talkie, a voice coming in who he didn’t recognize. Some lucky bastard who got the night shift on protecting the two of them. 

“Kurogane-san? Is everything alright in there, we had a door breach. Over.” 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” It wasn’t. Fai was gone, missing from the building, if the sounds of the alarm were any indication, but Kurogane didn’t want to have the troops swooping in, especially not after that little move. He didn’t want to scare Fai away even more. It wasn’t safe out there. “Don’t send anyone, I’ve got the situation under control.” 

Kurogane sensed the hesitation, but they eventually agreed, and turned off the alarms, and Kurogane shoved his feet into his boots to head out into the night. 

The night air was chilly, but the breeze felt nice. He wasn’t used to being inside all the time, and so he had to pause and take a deep breath, just taking in the coolness, even though most of what he smelled was car exhaust (since most of the cars down here still used fuel) and fatty foods. 

The street was relatively silent, especially since his ears were still ringing with the alarms. There was a couple walking high up the road, but they were too far away to have seen anything probably. Plus, judging by their stagger, he didn’t think they’d remember anything they did see. Up and around the corner was a bar, and in the distance he could hear the murmur of voices and thump of a bass line. 

“Dammit,” Kurogane murmured, turning around. Where would an idiot from the upper levels go if he was panicking? A tiny voice said maybe it was a distraction to get away, and that Fai had been planning to leave, even though it spelled a swift death if he was found. Ashura had already tried to kill him already, did he really think he’d be able to ever go back? “Dammit,” 

Kurogane picked a direction, and started walking, praying it was the right one. It was the one that led towards the elevator station, and staircases to the upper levels. If Fai was trying to get back, it would be a safe bet. Then again, he could just be hiding. 

He looked for over an hour, and frustration and worry were twisting knots in his stomach. By rights, he shouldn’t even care about this guy! Who would blame Kurogane if the man he’d been locked up with, by happenstance, decided to run away and die? Nobody. It would be sad, especially to people like Sakura, who’d known him, but their movement, their lives would move on. 

So why didn’t he just give up? Let him kill himself, if that’s what he wanted? People like him had so sense of self preservation, nor any of _fight_ to live. Why did this Fai guy get under his skin so much, so that even when Fai called him stupid nicknames it felt better than the times when he only said Kurogane, or nothing at all? Who the hell was he? 

Kurogane growled at himself, and punched, hitting his fist on a wooden fence slat and splintering it around his hand. He barely noticed the bleeding scratches, because there had been a gasp from up ahead. 

Without noticing, Kurogane had made it all the way to the elevator station. The place was fenced off for the night, but on the other side of the chain link, sat a huddled figure. It was Fai, looking back at him like he’d startled him. Well, he probably had. He looked cold and pathetic, and the sight of him sent Kurogane back into his anger. 

“What the hell are you doing out here?” Kurogane asked, spying the gap that Fai had slipped through, and coming through as well, to stand in front of him with his hands on his hips. Fai would probably listen better if Kurogane got down to his level, but he wasn’t really in the mood to care. 

Fai looked up, and smiled, a completely brittle smile that Kurogane didn’t buy for a second. 

“Just out for a stroll,’ he said. “It’s a nice night.” 

Kurogane didn’t even deign that with a response. 

“Shut up,” he said instead. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing here. You want to head back up to the upper levels. You _want_ to die?”

Fai didn’t answer for a moment too long, and Kurogane ‘tch’ed. 

“You’re pathetic. People like you, bemoaning what’s happened to them, thinking if they just gave up it would make it all better. It doesn’t. It just makes one more person dead.” 

Fai got angry then, standing up with the help of the chain links, so he could look at Kurogane in the eye. 

“I’m not suicidal,” he cut out, and Kurogane laughed, and the taste of it made him sick. 

“Not actively, but you don’t care if you die.” 

Fai looked murderous, but simultaneously close to tears. He grit his teeth, pale skin stark in the moonlight. “Stop talking like you know what it’s like, what’s happened to me! I’ve lost _everything_!” 

Kurogane wasn’t sure why this is the thing they were fighting about. There was still the question of the kiss, and why Fai had run in the first place, but the words kept pouring out. 

“You’re not the only one!” he snapped, and Fai blinked. 

“What?” he asked, and Kurogane waved his hand. 

“I _told_ you I lost my parents. I also lost my scholarship, my tuition and any chance at finishing my education, my house, my friends, my entire life. I came to work with Tomoyo and the others because I had nothing left. I’ve been where you stand, and I pulled myself back. I’ve done something with my life! You do the same!” 

Fai was staring at him, eyes wide, face open and broken. Tears began to glitter in the corners of his eyes, and then in the dark, he heard a soft gasp. He moved forward just as Fai collapsed into his chest, a wet sob the only sound he made. Kurogane caught him with surprise, and then placed his hand awkwardly on his back, where he could feel but not hear the hitching breaths. 

After a long moment, Fai pulled back a little. 

“I’m sorry I kissed you like that,” he whispered, and Kurogane rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t worry about it.” He still didn’t know if it was on purpose, or just a distraction, but it didn’t really matter. Kurogane needed to focus on getting them both back to safety, back to that shop. It was too open out here. 

~

He didn’t get them back quick enough. Fai’s little escapade had brought them far enough from the safe house that Kurogane couldn’t even see the building anymore. It was dark, and there wouldn’t be anyone with good intentions out at this time of the night. 

When the small man stepped out in front of them, as Kurogane led Fai down the streets, Kurogane cursed. He was a dressed in dark colors, and wearing a mask over the lower part of his face. His eyes were crinkled up in a smile.

“Evening,” he said. 

Kurogane immediately went into a protective position, gripping his flashlight he'd brought. It was heavy, but not that big, and wouldn’t make much more than a bludgeon. It was something, though.

Fai had shifted as well, eyes going wide and pale blue in the light from the bar. The guy whistled, and a few more, five in total echoed his laugh. 

“We have a couple of saps walking alone at night,” the first one said, smiling at Fai and then Kurogane. “What luck.”  
“Unarmed too, looks like,” said another, coming up behind him. 

Then, suddenly, Fai’s body lost all his tension. He stood up straight, and casually put one hand in his pocket, raising a finger in thought. 

“Oh dear, Kuro-chan,” he said, turning towards Kurogane. “They think we’re unarmed. Whatever shall we do?” 

Kurogane knew the guy was bluffing, and he was fighting not to show his confusion. Still, Fai was very believable, and his nonchalance was taking the men off guard. Kurogane decided to just deepen his frown, and tighten his hold on his flashlight. In that, at least, Fai wasn’t lying, though he didn’t know what good it would end up doing. 

The men in front of them were looking at each other quickly. 

“You don’t look armed,” said the first one, trying out a discussion. Fai laughed, his fully fake one that Kurogane had come to hate. 

“Are you willing to trust your eyes?” he asked. The guy scoffed. 

“Generally-ow, shit!” 

Quicker than Kurogane could follow, Fai had thrown out a hand, and then the man was clutching his face. The other guys were turning, fleeing - they’d been looking for an easy take down, not a fight. The man who was holding his cheek lowered his hand to show a long gouge on his cheekbone. Kurogane didn’t know how Fai had done it. 

“Why you little bastard!” he ground out, and charged at them both. Fai dodged, but Kurogane was ready, and his flashlight came down heavily on the man’s neck. With a shocked noise, he went to the ground. 

Fai was already running, and Kurogane followed. 

~

Once they were back inside the safe house, Fai allowed the trembling in his knees to take over, and he slid down the wall beside the rolling door. 

“What the hell was that?” Kurogane demanded, sounding somewhat impressed. Fai laughed again, this time in pure relief, and pulled out a handful of darts from the dart board. They were tipped in metal, and heavy ones, and Fai was very good. 

“I’ve never thrown one at a person before, but it seemed to go well enough.” 

Kurogane sat down on the floor next to him, and grabbed one of the darts, examining it. 

“You took these with you while you were running away panicking?” he asked, cutting straight to the point, as always. 

Fai went a little red, remembering the circumstances of their being outside in the first place. 

“I put a handful in my coat a while back. They’re the only things in here I thought I might be able to use as a weapon. Turns out I was right, eh, Kuro-pi?” he asked, nudging the other man’s side. 

Kurogane looked thoughtful. “Wasn’t a bad idea,” he said, and Fai felt inexplicably warmed by the praise. 

“Waah! Kuro-tan is proud of me~!” he exclaimed, blowing it out of proportion, and throwing his arms around Kurogane’s neck. Kurogane grumbled and shoved him off, but his eyes were laughing at him. 

~

It was the middle of the night, and Fai was jolted up out of sleep by a pounding on the rolling metal door. At the same time, Kurogane sat upright on the other side of the headboard, speaking into the beeping walkie talkie. 

“What? What’s happened?” 

Fai sat up with a gasp, looking around. It was dark, with the only light coming in from the high warehouse windows, tinted red from neon lights of the bar next door. Kurogane was listening as a metallic voice spoke out of the device, but Fai couldn’t understand what it was saying. 

“What’s going on?” Fai asked, standing. Kurogane was already up, and moving towards the door in his socks. He spared a glance backwards, finally putting the walkie talkie down. 

“Sakura’s been compromised,” he said, grimly, and Fai felt an ice cold chill rush down his spine. 

“Not Sakura-chan,” he whispered. It occurred to him how precarious a place he’d left her. With Yuui’s death, and his own abrupt removal, Sakura was, as far as he understood, the only one left from Kurogane’s group at InfoTech. She was good at her job (if his lack of suspicion was any indicator) but Ashura was canny. 

Kurogane was rolling up the door, to Syaoran handing in a pale faced Sakura. Kurogane brought her further in, and Fai saw that she was limping on a wrapped up ankle. 

“Sakura-chan!” Fai exclaimed, as Syaoran rolled the door shut. “Syaoran-kun, what happened?” 

Sakura knelt on the ground, looking grim and pained. “They came to my house,” she said. “They said I was under arrest, but I knew they didn’t mean jail for me, not if I’ve been found out.” 

“How’d you get away?” Kurogane asked, and Syaoran blushed. 

“I-” his face was red, and Sakura waved her hand.

“He was there. And, I have some pretty good defenses in place. Just twisted my ankle running,” she reprimanded herself. 

Fai was kneeling on the ground, checking Sakura’s ankle, not that he knew what he was looking for. She was still in her pajamas, with bed mussed hair, but she looked angry enough to fight. 

“We’re just glad you got away, Sakura-chan,” Fai said, patting her foot. She sighed heavily. 

“And I was so close to finding out more about that project as well!” 

“That’s probably how they caught onto you,” Syaoran said. “I told you not to dig too much.” 

“We needed to know. What else was I supposed to do?” 

Fai sat back on his heels. That was the information that he’d refused to give them. That was what he knew. This was _his_ fault. Sakura almost died, and it would have been his own doing. 

“We need you to take out the implant,” Syaoran said to Kurogane, and Kurogane nodded, and turned to Fai. 

“Go find a flat table, and that lamp,” he said, and Fai nodded, and left quickly. He knew where the best items would be, if Kurogane was doing impromptu surgery like he’d done for him. Hopefully Sakura’s would go better. Even four weeks later, he still got twinges of pain from the mostly healed scar. It wasn’t very pretty, and he generally wore long sleeves because of it, but it still looked better than the glimpse he’d had of Kurogane’s. Fai hoped Sakura wouldn’t have a scar, she didn’t deserve to be branded that way. 

~

Sakura’s surgery went quickly, and much less dramatically than Fai’s. Kurogane worked swiftly and precisely as he removed the wires and chip, and barely needed the few stitches to close up the wound. Her implant hadn’t been removed before this point, since she was working in the very place that manufactured them and she’d certainly have been found out if she didn’t have that. However, that meant that she had needed to be constantly careful of things like wire taps to her very wrist, or other people monitoring her gps, and other kinds of spy devices. Yuui had been instrumental in making it safe for her, and his own implant to stay in by creating firewalls and protective software to keep out unwanted attention. 

Once they were done, and Sakura was resting on the couch with Syaoran’s arm around her, Kurogane leaned on the arm of the couch, arms crossed, to listen to her theories. Fai was curled on the opposite couch, in what the dumbass had termed ‘their living room’. 

“I think Syaoran was right,” Sakura said, tired now after the pain of the surgery, holding her arm in her lap. “I don’t know if they know the extent yet, but they know I was snooping. They shouldn’t find evidence at my house, but I’m sure there’s something somewhere.” 

Kurogane folded his arms tighter, suddenly feeling unsafe and annoyed for it. He hadn’t been safe this whole time, but he’d allowed himself and Fai to fall into a false sense of security. “Will they trail you to this place?” he asked, and Fai shot him an offended glance, like he shouldn’t dare ask such a question. “What? We need to know.” 

Sakura shook her head, looking proudly at Syaoran. “In that, at least, I’m confident. Syaoran is far too good at losing trails, and no one can track that truck electronically, it’s too old.” 

Kurogane nodded, and again looked at Fai. Fai was watching Sakura and Syaoran on the couch, how they were curled into each other, with a wistful expression on his face. He’d been quiet and pale since Sakura came to their door, perhaps not strangely since it it was Sakura who was hurt, and he’d known her before, but it still unnerved him. He’d gotten used to a Fai who chattered at him, or wandered around getting into things, or hung on the side of the treadmill as he tried to exercise. It was actually a little startling to realized how _used_ to Fai he was, so much so that he could sleep deeply with him right across the headboard from his head. Things were changing right now, and who knew what the plans would be… but Kurogane realized that though he wanted to be out of the building he was trapped in, the company hadn’t been that bad.

~ 

Sakura fell asleep there, and Syaoran would not be moved, so Fai pulled a blanket from his bed, and laid it carefully over the two on the couch, withdrawing to the corner where the treadmill was, crouching against the wall and pulling his arms around himself. 

He admitted, he was shaken by Sakura being found out, and the swift action taken against her and Syaoran. Her story had been chilling, and Fai was reminded again of the night he’d ended up here, sans the physical trauma luckily. It reminded him of what he’d left, of Ashura’s cold smile, and the way the private security (people who he’d found comforting before in the large office building) swarmed the clinic, or the way someone somewhere had flipped a switch to kill him painfully and mercilessly through his implant. They could do that to anyone, anywhere. It made Fai want to throw up. 

A glass of water appeared in front of him, and Fai looked up to see Kurogane’s arm holding it out. His face looked annoyed, and he was looking away. 

“What’s that for?” Fai asked, and Kurogane ‘tch’ed. 

“You looked, god would you just take the damn water?” Kurogane asked, shoving it forward, and into Fai’s hands. He took a sip, and smiled. 

“Thanks,” he said, lowering the glass. Kurogane didn’t reply, but he slid down the wall to crouch beside him, a solid, warm comfort. 

Fai looked back across the room, where he could just see the little bump of reddish hair that was the top of Sakura’s head, leaned against the side of Syaoran’s brown. 

“She’s so young,” Fai whispered. Kurogane turned his face, but was silent, letting Fai talk. “I called her Princess, sometimes, at work. She used to have a job, dressing up for kids. Or at least, that’s what she told me.” Fai said, but Kurogane nodded. 

“I think she did.” 

“So, that wasn’t a lie,” Fai said, deciding anew to trust Sakura. “I’m sure she told me everything she could, without giving herself away. _I_ was the one who wasn’t trustworthy, not yet. I was too close to Ashura. I see that now. It was the same with my brother.” 

He’d struggled with the thought that Yuui had died lying to him… but he’d been wrong. Yuui was protecting him. Sakura too. Never sure if he would betray them, even unknowingly. Would he? Pushing away the thought, Fai focused on the night, on who was in front of him.

Fai sighed. “Poor girl, she went through so much. And Syaoran too, worrying for her.”

Kurogane let out a breath, and abruptly Fai realized that his body beside Fai was tense, and he had on his annoyed face, but his fists said mad. 

“Kuro-sama?” Fai said, and Kurogane turned to him with a glare. 

“Don’t do that,” he bit out, and Fai blinked. 

“Do wha-?”

“Call me nicknames, kiss me, give the kids a blanket and act all worried. You don’t want to be here. If you could, you’d leave today, and go back to Ashura.” 

Fai blinked, surprised. Like he’d just been thinking, would he go back if he could. He’d tried, only nights ago, after kissing Kurogane (why was Kurogane still thinking about that? why was he?) to go back, to go up to the upper levels, where he’d lived in contentment. He’d been safe, and lived in ease, but he’d longed for something more. That was why he’d come up with the Soulmate Project in the first place. To bring meaning into his life, and maybe even love. 

Now, he was dragged into a life where the people around him were _fighting_ for something. For freedom. For life. For love, in the case of Syaoran and Sakura. Could he leave this and go back to the dullness of his office, after seeing such passion?

If he could get his brother back...but that could never happen.

Fai could say nothing. Fai smiled through his headache, through his heartache, lying to Kurogane even now. Kurogane knew it, and scoffed, turning his head away. 

“I don’t care what you do, or what happened in your past. But you need to choose which side you’re on.” 

Fai stared at him, that stupid smile finally falling from his face. He knew, he knew that he did, that he could never go back, never get back what he’d had, but aside from Yuui, did he really want it anyway? 

He tore his eyes from Kurogane’s, and looked down at the water glass he still held. Kurogane didn’t make a noise as he got up and walked away. 

Fai watched him go, noting again the broad shoulders, the easy stride. Kurogane approached life the same was as he walked. Easy, with strength and determination, and a knowledge that whatever happened, he’d do the best he could to protect the things he cared about. Tomoyo fell into that category, these kids, the cause of their organization… could Fai fit anywhere in there? Could Fai care enough about these people, about Kurogane and Sakura and Syaoran to take the irrevocable step, and give them the information they needed? 

That tug in his heart told him he already did. 

“Kurogane,” Fai called and the retreating figure froze, but didn’t turn around. “Kuro-tan,” Fai said, and only then did Kurogane turn around, looking at him sideways through angry slanted eyes. 

“What?” 

Fai took a breath, terror retreating. “I’ll help you. You and the others. I know how to get what you need.” 

Kurogane’s eyebrows rose for a moment, before his scowl deepened. “Why?” 

Fai half laughed, and then let the smile fall from his face. It seemed to reassure Kurogane. 

“It’s what you wanted me to do. I’m picking a side.” Fai met his eyes, for once steady, not skittering away, and he found that they drew him in, and only solidified his resolve. “Yours. And Sakura-chan’s and Syaoran-kun’s. I’ll help destroy Project Soulmate.” 

~

“You can actually destroy it?” Syaoran’s voice was amazed, leaning forward and examining him, the way he had looked at the old technology in what Fai had affectionately dubbed ‘the tech corner’. 

They were sitting around the couches, and Sakura looked much better today, though she still hadn’t removed the blanket, saying it was too cold in the drafty shop. It was morning, and Kurogane pouring out instant oatmeal in bowls for their guests, when Fai told them that he was going to help. 

Fai laughed lightly, and waved a hand. “Well, destroy isn’t quite the word, but I am a programmer. It’s just a program, in the end.” It was, it was just a program. One that Fai had put his mind, heart and soul into, without realizing the uses. He’d been naive, yes, but he also thought he’d been hopeful. Perhaps the others wouldn’t see it that way. 

He hadn’t told them that he was the one who spawned the whole project in the first place. Fai wasn’t quite sure why, except that right now the person behind this was some faceless developer, who’s thought processes were evil and unfathomable. It was just Fai, who’d held some hope for the world. Turned out the world was a lot more twisted than he’d thought. 

“And you know how to disable it, then?” Sakura asked. “How can you be sure?” 

Fai hummed. “I’m sure it can’t be that hard,” he said, and felt Kurogane’s eyes fall on him. They were hard, and heavy, so Fai changed the conversation. “The tricky part will be to get into the building, and around the security protocols. I’m sure I don’t have access anymore, but once in, Ashura’s desk will have everything I need. We’d want to avoid running into him though.” Very much so. Fai didn’t want to face Ashura ever again. 

“We should talk to everyone. Yuuko will want to know about this,” Syaoran said. 

~

That evening, they were called on to meet with Yuuko Ichihara herself. Kurogane, for all that he’d worked in this group for a while, hadn’t actually met their benefactor. She was a business owner, who somehow was a rival to Ashura’s company, though Kurogane wasn’t quite sure in what way, since her businesses didn’t have anything to do with watches. There was something personal there, he thought. She’d agreed to meet them, and especially to meet Fai, though at another location. She couldn’t meet them in her main office. Most of her staff wouldn’t know about this side project rebellion, after all. 

Syaoran led the way, driving them all there in his old truck, and Kurogane felt the relief at being out and moving war with the danger of being in the streets, especially after dark. He kept a close eye on Fai as well, not that he was worried he’d run - he believed him when he said he wanted to help them. But, because he was still hiding something, and Kurogane wasn’t sure what that was, or if it would get him or the kids killed. However, Syaoran trusted him and Sakura did as well, judging by her chattiness as she sat next to him in the back seat of the truck. 

“You’ll like Yuuko-san, she’s really nice,” Sakura was saying. “Oh, but you’ve met Watanuki-kun already, haven’t you? He came to company events.” 

“I’ve seen Yuuko from a distance, as well,” Fai said. “She’s… striking.” 

“As far as Watanuki-kun goes,” Fai said. “I first met him in the kitchen at a party, and I stole some of the food he made. He yelled that I should wait until it was served, and threw a ladle at me, to which I stuck out my tongue and stole another bite. He hasn’t liked me since.” 

Sakura was laughing at the imagery, but Kurogane was rolling his eyes. “Understandable,” he muttered from the front seat, and got a swat for his troubles. 

“Kuro-meanie! Now that’s just rude, I’m _very_ likable. Isn’t that right, Sakura-chan?” Fai asked, voice swooping from offended to flirty in a moment flat. Kurogane glanced at Syaoran, who rolled his eyes upwards while Sakura giggled, apparently unthreatened. 

They drove along the winding lower city roads, and then Fai sat forward, his head in between the seats and almost on Kurogane’s shoulder. 

“Are we meeting her in the upper city?” There was no way they’d be able to get into the upper city, not on a whim like this, and not driving this truck. The checkpoints wouldn’t let them through, not upwards anyway. You could get down alright, but not up. 

Syaoran was shaking his head, as he shifted gears and slowed down. “She’s meeting us down here.” 

“Could she have not come to the safe house?” Fai asked, out of curiosity, and Sakura replied. 

“She wouldn’t want to compromise it. That’s why she only sends Watanuki-kun. He’s very good at getting places unseen.” 

“And Yuuko is _seen_ wherever she goes,” Syaoran finished. 

They pulled up at the front of a nightclub, and Kurogane could feel the music pounding from the curb. Syaoran let them out to go park, with a stern urge to keep an eye on each other, and wait for him outside, by which he mostly meant for Kurogane and Fai to keep an eye on Sakura. Not that she needed it, she was already chatting with the bouncer. 

Fai was looking down at himself, looking self conscious, as people in flashy clothes, leather, and heaven forbid, _glitter_ moved past them to get into the bar. He and Fai both were wearing shabby clothes they’d found in the racks at the second hand shop, since their original clothes were bloodied that first night. Fai _would_ be the sort of person to dress up for a place like this. 

They waited against the wall, drawing little attention to themselves, until Syaoran came back, and directed them around the corner on the street, and to the back of an open truck trailer. 

“Oh, hell no,” Kurogane said, shaking his head and backing up. It looked like a makeup kit and a fabric store had both thrown up in the stuffed trailer. Fai was looking around in awe, and probably excitement, that bastard, and Syaoran looked resigned. 

A small figure stepped out from the racks of clothing, and Sakura gave a squeal of excitement, skipping up the ramp. 

“Tomoyo-chan!” 

“Sakura-chan!” For Tomoyo it was, looking very excited to see Sakura, like always. They ran forward, and hugged, and then Tomoyo pulled back to look at Sakura’s face. “Are you alright? I was so alarmed when I heard that you’d been found out!” 

Sakura nodded. “I’m fine. Syaoran took good care of me,” she said, sending Syaoran a fond look. Tomoyo beamed at Syaoran, and then at all of them, stepping back. 

“Are you all ready?” she asked, and Kurogane took the opportunity to let out a groan, one that Tomoyo should be very familiar with. He’d always hated being her dress up toy - not that that stopped her. True to form, Tomoyo just laughed merrily. “Oh, Kurogane, you can’t meet with Yuuko-san in a nightclub without looking the part. Luckily, I was able to bring a small part of my show’s wardrobe here to help!”

“Small part?” Fai said, faintly, fingering some silky looking something. Kurogane crossed his arms, knowing what came next. 

A short time of tugging too tight jeans and silks shirts on and being stuffed into leather and glittered up, and hair styled, (with extra attention showed to Sakura, as always. Tomoyo _loved_ to dress up Sakura more than anyone) and then they all stood in the center of the room again, eying each other. 

“Oh, you all look perfect!” Tomoyo gushed. Sakura was wearing a pink tights, and leather skirt that managed to be flowy, and a jacket covered with ruffles, and was probably the only one of them, aside from Fai, who didn’t look ridiculous. Scratch that, Fai looked completely ridiculous, with red leather pants, and a black silk shirt that bared his stomach. Everything was skin tight. Syaoran matched Sakura, and Kurogane… well, he too had been stuffed into leather. Black, at least, but the pants chafed and his jacket would be far too warm, he could tell. 

Kurogane felt Fai look him over, and fought back a blush, and the urge to scrub off the subtle shine and eyeliner Tomoyo had given him. He probably looked like an idiot. Though, he had to admit that Fai’s eyes looked… good, the blue only enhanced by the make up. Guess that was the point. 

Fai saw him looking, and smiled bigger, and hopped over to hang on his arm. 

“Wah, Kuro-tan looks so pretty all dressed up~!” he fluttered, and Kurogane shook him off, blushing harder. 

“Who the hell are you calling pretty!?” 

Tomoyo smiled, laughing softly as Sakura twirled in her skirt. 

“Oh, Sakura-chan! You look lovely, as always! I would expect nothing less, of course!” she said, clapping. “And Syaoran-kun is the perfect match. Oh, what fun!” 

She led them out of the dressing van, and waved goodbye and good luck as they headed towards the nightclub, where Sakura had already made friends with the bouncer. He let them through, and they entered the place, the music already blaring and beating at Kurogane’s breastbone. 

There were people everywhere, all dressed up and shiny, and Kurogane found himself glad Tomoyo had taken the time to make them change. They wouldn’t have fit in. 

Fai looked right in place, a real smile wide, and he was bouncing to the music. Sakura too looked like she was ready to have fun, and she had Syaoran by the hand, dragging him along. Kurogane wasn’t quite sure where they were going, but he kept an eye out for Yuuko, or that Watanuki kid, though it was hard to see through the flashing lights, and press of people. 

“Do we get to dance?” Fai called out, and Kurogane was shaking his head in a violent ‘no’, when Syaoran answered him. 

“It looks weird if we just stand here,” he said, voice reluctant. Sakura laughed, and grabbed him to dance, and Fai raised his eyebrows at Kurogane. 

“I’m not dancing with you!” 

Fai laughed, lifting his arms up to dance along with the tempo. “You don’t have to dance with me. Just dance. We don’t know where we’re supposed to be, but I’m sure they don’t want us to stick out like a sore Kuro-thumb.” 

Kurogane grumbled, and began moving, shifting his knees along with the music. It felt too awkward, and Fai was laughing at him, so he stopped and crossed his arms. 

“I don’t want to do this,” he said. Fai took his hands, and pulled them out of his tightly folded arms, and shook them back and forth, making Kurogane’s shoulders move with the music. 

“C’mon, Kuro-tan, it’s not that hard,” he said, still laughing. He looked like he was truly having fun. Kurogane hadn’t seen him this at ease since he’d met him. And when he wasn’t lying, his eyes shone… 

Fai noticed him looking, and faltering as their eyes met. 

“Kuro-”

“Well, you all look like you’re enjoying yourselves,” said a flat voice right behind Kurogane. Kurogane yanked his hands out of Fai’s grip, and turned to see Watanuki standing behind him. _He_ was getting away with just wearing jeans and a black button up, but no, Kurogane had to be stuffed in _leather_. 

“Watanuki-kun! Are you dancing too?” Fai crowed, leaning over Kurogane’s shoulder. Watanuki rolled his eyes. 

“Yuuko’s this way.” 

They gathered Sakura and Syaoran (Syaoran looking dazed, with a smudge of Sakura’s lipstick on his cheek) and headed towards an upper level. People were still dancing up here, but the light was a little better. In a knot of people, Kurogane saw Yuuko’s long black hair. She was dancing herself, wearing club clothes of long black boots, a short skirt and a large amount of cleavage. Watanuki stood on the edge of the knot, and yelled. 

“Yuuko-san! Your guests are here!” he sounded annoyed, and unwilling to get any closer. Yuuko heard though, turning coyly over her shoulder. 

“Watanuki, can’t you see I’m dancing here?” she said. Watanuki sighed. 

“Your _guests_ are here!” 

She sighed heavily, and bid farewell to her multiple dancing partners, before moving over to them with languid movements. 

“Fine, fine,” she came up to the group, and looked them up and down. “Well, Tomoyo-chan certainly gave _you_ a make over. Though someone looks displeased,” she said, poking Kurogane’s cheek. Ah geez, she was another one of those personal space invaders. 

“Kuro-tan is having fun, as are we all, Yuuko-san,” Fai said politely. “Thank you for inviting us.” 

“Yes, yes.” Yuuko led them away from the dance floor, and back into a room. Inside it was draped with ornate fabric, and sliding screens, and it smelled like sweet smoke. There were two couches facing each other, and no windows. Watanuki walked over and turned on a lamp, while Yuuko moved _mostly_ behind a screen, and began to change clothes, showing off a glimpse of bare shoulders, while her dark hair swished around. She emerged in a new robe, a fancy kimono, though the tie wasn’t done correctly, and showed her cleavage again and a long line of pale leg. 

“Now, to business. You have something to tell me?” 

They all took seats on the too-small-for-four-people couch, while Yuuko draped herself across the other one, and told her what happened. 

“So, you wish to enter Ashura’s fortress? Fai, you remember the security measures, you know how hard this will be.” 

Fai, looking solemn now, nodded. Yuuko met his eyes for a long moment. 

“You think you can destroy this program, do you?” she asked. “You want to, even though it amounts to the life’s work of some poor developer. Ashura wasn’t the one who created it, you know. Perhaps, they only had good intentions?” 

Fai swallowed, and Kurogane frowned, suddenly feeling like he was missing something. 

“Regardless, whoever created it was naive if they thought this would solve all the world’s problems. Love isn’t something that can be measured in data points.” 

Yuuko smiled then, like Fai had given her the correct answer. 

“Very well. What you’ll need are supplies, weapons and a trustworthy team. Someone to get you in, and to the computer system you’ll use to take it down.”

Fai looked around at the three others that surrounded him. Kurogane on his right, and Sakura and Syaoran on his left. 

“Will you all come with me?” he asked, hesitating suddenly. Syaoran nodded firmly, and Sakura laughed and laid a hand on Fai’s. Kurogane ‘tch’ed, and then met Fai’s eyes. 

“We’ve worked together this far, haven’t we?” he said. 

Fai smiled, brightly and real, and nodded. 

Yuuko nodded. 

“Of course, there will be danger. Three of you are trained in at least some combat training, but Fai, you are not.”

Kurogane suddenly smirked, remembering the shocked look on that muggers face. 

“I don’t know, he’s pretty dangerous with a dart set,” he said, and Fai laughed. Yuuko smiled. 

“I’ll grant this wish. Watanuki,” she ordered, and Watanuki seemed to know what to do, moving to a computer screen, and beginning to download data onto a chip. Yuuko took a breath, and turned back to them. “To be clear on the situation, what you need more than anything is a delay. Ashura has his deal for the Soulmate Project taking place in three days, on June first.” 

“The same day that it is releasing to the public,” Fai said.

“A select group of the public. They’ll be the guinea pigs while Ashura’s buyer tests out the control they have. Essentially, the first round of test subjects comes with the deal.” 

Fai swallowed, and exchanged a look with Kurogane. Kurogane remembered Fai’s insistence that the project could be a good thing, and compared that with his pallor now. He knew, he knew the implications of this thing that his company was creating. No one intended on using this as a matchmaking tool. 

Yuuko leaned forward, palm on chin. 

“What you need is to stop Ashura from being able to make his deal.” 

Fai looked grim, and nodded. 

“I can do that,” he said, and Kurogane turned to him incredulously. 

“How?” 

Sakura and Syaoran were watching as well. Fai looked at them both, and clasped his hands together. 

“I’ll rewrite the code of the Soulmate Project. If they can’t use the code, it won’t do all the things it’s supposed to do.” 

“How will you do it?” Yuuko asked. “Aren’t you just a lowly coder. Can you imagine the complexity of a project the scale of this? Do you think you can come up with a way to make it useless in just three days?” 

Fai squared his chin, a far cry from the cringing man he’d met at his clinic doorway, or the lying shattered man who’d collapsed at the meeting. 

“I’ll find a way.” 

Kurogane huffed. “Why can’t we just smash the computer and be done with it?” 

That broke whatever solid spell Fai had been in, and he laughed and pinched Kurogane’s arm. 

“Oh, Kuro-chan, that would have worked a hundred years ago, maybe. All the data is backed up and stored in the cloud, which updates every minute. The first copy is secure in the internal server, and has very specific security accesses. I could get to it from my- , well, Ashura’s desk is the best bet. From there, any changes I make would be saved for everything else. 

“And that will stop Ashura from selling it?” Syaoran asked. Yuuko nodded. 

“For the time being, at least. The buyer he’s been working with is very specific and has a temper. If there was an unexpected delay, he wouldn’t accept it.” 

Kurogane leaned forward. 

“What do we do?” he asked, referring to Syaoran, Sakura, and himself. Yuuko leveled her eyes at him, face sober. 

“Protect Fai. Get him where he needs to go.” 

~

Saying he could write a code that would render the project unusable was all well and good, but as to how to actually go about it, Fai had no idea. He sat on the floor, surrounded by the only working computers in the place, an old desktop with a screen that was shiney but slow, and another tablet. Syaoran's code skills were substantial, but far more practical, and he mainly used outdated stuff to avoid detection. Fai needed to write, from scratch, the most updated things he could think of, in order to ruin the work he’d spent _years_ on. 

Fai scrubbed his hands down his face, and started again, bending over the keyboard. Keyboard. With keys! His fingers were tired already. 

Then, a small face bounced into his view, and Fai startled back to see Sakura, crouching in front of him, with a smile on her face. 

“Hello, Fai-san,” she chirped, and Fai settled back, his surprise fading to a smile. 

“Hello yourself, Sakura-chan.” Sakura had been staying with them, since a safe house with plenty of room was already intact, and Sakura liked both he and Kurogane well enough, and they her. “Are you enjoying your new room? Sorry you have to be put up with these two crusty old men.” Fai had pushed a bed, dresser and a standing screen into a further away corner, to give her some privacy. 

Sakura laughed. “Neither you or Kurogane is so old, and I’m not that young. There’s, what? Five years between us?” 

Fai smiled. “Maybe closer to eight.” 

Sakura subsided, still smiling at him. “Fine, you old codger. Are you making any progress?” 

Fai looked at the scattered computer screens, and the two different mouses he had to use, since neither of them had proper touch screens, and sighed. 

“Noooo….” he whined, falling sideways. “This tech is sooo old, and I can’t make it do what I want…” 

Sakura put her fist on her chin, looking deep in thought. 

“Is that the only problem? Because I’m sure that Yuuko could have some newer computers sent over…” 

Fai sat up again, slumped. “No, you’re right. I don’t know what to do. The coding for the Soulmate Project is- has to be complex, or it wouldn’t do all that it needs to do. How do I write something complex enough to override it in just three days? Well, two and a half.” It was mid morning now, and he’d started before the sun rose, with a lamp as his only companion. 

Sakura hummed, poking the mouse. It was one of those cute ones, that actually looked like a mouse. 

“I don’t know much about coding, but maybe you’re thinking too hard. What’s the bare minimum solution? The least we need to make it work?” 

Fai thought. “We need a way for the project to be unusable.” 

Sakura nodded. “Mhmm. It doesn’t have to do something else, or even be logical. It could be all in code, it just has to not work on the day that it’s supposed to.” 

Fai’s eyes widened. He grinned, and bopped Sakura’s nose. “You are certainly good at your job, Sakura-hime!” 

Code had sparked an idea. Yuui had encoded everything that was on his watch into their twin code, the string of random rules and different interpretations that only meant anything to the two of them. He’d trusted it enough to stake his life on it. Fai could trust it to give them a few days of time, and ruin one sales deal. 

Sakura giggled, and half shrugged. “I do what I can, for being unemployed now.” 

Fai’s fingers were already flying over the keys, so Sakura stood and smoothed down his hair. 

“I’ll bring you some lunch when it’s ready. Good luck, Fai-san,” she said, moving away. 

~

Aside from Fai’s coding, he didn’t really know what needed to be put together for their little escapade. Apparently, a lot. The floor of the warehouse was spread out with a holographic map of the floor plan of Ashura’s building, given to them by Watanuki on a small chip. Though, Fai and Sakura knew the layout well enough, Fai had no idea of the hidden routes, or little used hallways, so he studied them all. 

Weapons were delivered in the morning, with a few options for each of them. Kurogane chose two handguns that had a stun function, and actual bullets. Sakura did the same. Syaoran picked up an extending stun club, and a handful of pellets that Fai was assured were bombs, though they’d be more smoke and noise than anything else. 

“Distractions,” he said, tucking them into his pocket. 

Fai found that there was a set of darts set aside for him, only these had sharp tips, and visible wiring. Electronic stun darts, where an electronic pulse paralysed the nervous system, usually causing blackouts. Handy. Then, underneath that was a sheath with a set of throwing knifes. He picked those up too. He moved over to his dart board, and spent every minute he wasn’t coding, throwing the knives, to gain at least a little skill. The three days passed too quickly, but finally everyone was ready. 

On the afternoon of May 31st, there was nothing to do but wait. Their preparations were made, and if Fai practiced anymore with the throwing knifes his arm would be too sore to work in a few hours. He slipped everything into his bag, and laid out the clothes he’d found to wear - bland office clothes that Yuui would have worn. He even still had Yuui’s glasses, but there was no need for that. They were trying to fit in at a glance from the security cameras, not disguise themselves as someone else. 

Someone came up behind him, and it had to be Kurogane since Syaoran was off in the tech corner, fiddling with something or another, and Sakura was picking out the clothes she’d be wearing from the woman’s aisles. 

Fai dragged on a smile, and turned around, to see Kurogane already wearing office wear - an ill fitting button-up, light blue, and black pants. He’d even pressed down his spiky hair a little, though it didn’t really make much difference. Fai was a bit impressed; Kurogane managed to make the second hand clothes look good. Or maybe he just looked good, no matter what he was wearing. It could be that, Fai thought, remembering the tight black pants at the club two days ago. 

“You should get ready,” Kurogane said, leaning on the dresser Fai had shoved against the end of his bed, and where he stored the little bits and bobs he’d found, and the clothes he’d decided would be his. 

“We have an hour before we have to go, Kuro-sama,” Fai said quietly. “I’m sure I’ll have time to change into horrid office-wear.”

Kurogane looked at him with a level frown, and Fai got the feeling he was talking about something other than wearing the right clothes. Not that Fai wanted to join in on that. 

“Of course, it’s not horrid on you, Kuro-tan!” he fluttered and flirted, determinately changing the subject, “How do you make even boring button ups look good?” 

Kurogane ‘tched’ and looked away for a brief moment, but it was enough to make Fai smile wider. 

“Kuro-poo makes such a handsome office worker-”

“Why are you doing this?” Kurogane asked, cutting him off and Fai blinked. 

“Well, because it’s so fun to tease you, and Kuro-chan has such funny reactions to things-” 

“No,” Kurogane’s voice was solemn. “I mean leading us in, going with us. Why?” 

“Why not?” Fai shrugged, and Kurogane showed a flash of anger so fierce that Fai thought for a moment that he would grab his throat, threaten him, push him down against the bed he sat on. He couldn’t say he minded the image, but he thought he’d just gotten done with Kurogane being angry at him. 

“If you tell me you have nothing better to do, or some other stupid reason, I’ll punch you in the face,” Kurogane threatened. Fai tilted his head, not sure what was causing this reaction. Kurogane took a breath, and glared. 

“I know you care. I saw how you took care of those kids, how you looked when we said we’d go with you.”

Fai looked back at him, smile fading, feeling that uncomfortably naked feeling he often felt when Kurogane looked at him. 

“What do you want me to say?” Fai voice rose, flitting along, obviously far too light hearted to say anything he actually meant. “That I care about you, or the kids? That I feel so protective of you all that I’ll do anything, even throw away my old life, for you? That I love you?” 

Kurogane scoffed, glaring angrily straight at him, straight through him. “I want you to stop lying.”

Fai felt his mask break, and he turned away so he could grimace. His emotions were in a roiling mess. Why...why did Kurogane do this to him? He thought back to that kiss, but more meaningful, the comfort he’d found in his arms while he cried… Kurogane was the face of the organization who’d taken his brother away, taken him away from all he’d known. He was helping, it was the right thing to do, but he didn’t want to answer why. He couldn’t. 

“Then listen to the truth, Kurogane,” Fai said, voice cold and clear, face still turned away. “I’m helping because it’s the right thing to do, to finish my brother’s work. Not because of any personal connection we might have made in less than six weeks.” 

Fai turned away, and abruptly felt like he could cry, and he still wasn’t sure why. He gathered up his clothes, and marched past Kurogane towards the restroom. He had to get ready. 

~

In the early evening, they walked up to the building like they were meant to be there. The lobby of the building had always been an impressive area, with a large glass floor (under which running water flowed atop black stone) and a circular chandelier. Fai hadn’t even given it much thought to walk across that space, and through the sensors that allowed access to the rest of the building. Now, where the cover of night meant little, because there were always people coming and going - those like him who stayed ridiculously late, or others who just preferred their schedule that way - in addition to the security booth, where a uniformed man watched attentively, Fai was queasy to think of all the things that would be monitoring their progress. 

“To think that all these security measures used to make me feel safe,” Fai said faintly, and Kurogane next to him, snorted. 

“Now they’re just a pain in the ass.” 

Syaoran was holding his handheld device, waiting for Sakura and the two of them at the entrance of the gate. This was the tricky part. The security guard wasn’t looking at them directly, but if they lingered any longer than necessary, he’d wonder why. This was the reason that Sakura ran smack into Syaoran, and began apologizing. 

“Oh, my, I’m so sorry!” Sakura said, looking for all the world like she was dreadfully embarrassed. Syaoran was just flustered, but at least his act was believable. 

“Oh! It’s okay!” 

Kurogane growled from behind Fai, acting like he was trying to get through, and Syaoran’s subtle fingers tapped on the device, hiding behind Sakura’s body, to trick the programming into thinking that Kurogane was allowed through. Fai followed him, and then Sakura, still apologizing, was able to get through. Syaoran came through last, breathing a little sigh of relief. 

They walked in, and Fai felt the familiar shiver of the laser scanners up and down his body, searching for the implant to ID him, and if he was carrying anything dangerous. Thanks to Syaoran’s trick, the scanner read the appropriate clearance, and hid the presence of their weapons. The scanner was also a video, but to avoid facial recognition, they had a trio of dots across his forehead, to interfere with the recording. Their faces would just look like glitches in the video.

“The first checkpoint,” he murmured, and hurried along to catch up. 

Inside the hallway, there was a tall elevator that went all the way up to the thirteenth floor, the floor that Fai used to work on. From there, they’d have to move to a different elevator to head up to floor fifteen, where Ashura’s and the other manager’s offices were. Fai and the others moved carefully towards the elevator. They were out of the line of sight of the security guard at the front desk, but there were still tiny black globes on the ceiling corners, recording them. 

Syaoran had to let them inside the elevator one at a time again, a little quicker this time, since the elevators had the sensors but not the scanner. It moved upward after a moment, and Fai felt shivery, murmuring, “Checkpoint two.” 

A few people came on and off the elevator, and they all ignored each other. It was no one Fai recognized, and their cover was safe. Then, they reached the thirteenth floor, and that luck came to an end. 

The elevator door opened, and Kyle Rondart, his coworker, and rival, was standing in the hallway. His bag was over his shoulder, like he was about to leave. Fai frowned; it was late for him. 

“Fai?” he asked, looking at him in confusion. “And Sakura too?” Then, his face cleared and he looked at them darkly. In that instant, Fai knew that Kyle knew exactly what was supposed to have happened to him, and what his Uncle had done. That was probably why Kyle had hated him - he’d been so naive, so ignorant. It had to have been annoying. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked coldly, and Fai stepped forward, in front of his friends. 

“Oh, nothing at all, Kyle. Now, run along, like a good assistant,” Fai fluttered his hands. 

Kyle’s face drew down in a scowl. “I’m _running_ your project now. You’re not supposed to be here.” 

Fai put out a hand, saying, “No, don’t!” But Kyle’s finger had already slammed down on his watch. 

“Security to the thirteenth floor! Security-!” Fai and Kurogane both ran forward, and Fai tackled the man, pushing him to the ground, and pinning his wrist. One of the throwing knifes found its way to his hand, and Fai held it to Kyle’s throat, while Kurogane covered him with one of his guns. 

Alarms were beginning to flash already, as the security in the building (though probably no more than five or six total) began to mobilize upwards. Any moment a long intruder siren was supposed to go off. Fai had been to countless seminars on the security measures of the building, and never before had he wished he’d paid better attention to a mandatory meeting. 

“Shut up,” he hissed, still smiling. That was probably alarming. 

Kyle looked up at him, an angry snarl on his face. “Was it all an act? You were working with our enemies the whole time?” 

Fai leaned back, and replaced the knife with one of the stun darts, pressing it against Kyle’s throat, before he stiffened and then went limp. 

“No,” he said to the unconscious man. “I was just an idiot before.” 

His group surrounded him, and Syaoran helped him up. Kurogane was looking at him with an amused grin, which made Fai frown and cross his arms. 

“You could have helped a little more, Kuro-tan,” he said, grumpily, and Kurogane chuckled. 

“I don’t know, I think you had him pretty well covered. Old rival?” 

Fai tapped his body with his shoe. 

“Well, he wasn’t my friend.” 

“Uh, guys. We should probably move?” Syaoran said, interrupting them. He was already kneeling down, as Kyle’s confrontation was actually exactly what they’d been hoping for. Syaoran quickly took Fai’s decoy watch off, and put Kyle’s on, over the other device he had strapped to his wrist. 

“And this will get me into the computer?” Fai clarified, and Syaoran nodded. 

“This will fool the computer into thinking you’re Kyle. As high as his clearance goes, you’ll go.” 

Fai nodded. “That’s fine. He’s exactly who we needed.” 

Syaoran's device would upload Kyle’s biological markers, the ones the computer looked at to verify who he was, onto the other device, to act like he had Kyle’s implant. This would allow him to access everything he needed on the computer system. 

The siren started, a blaring thing that announced very clearly that they were not supposed to be there.

Fai stood up, and looked down at Kyle. “We need to hide him. If they find his body, they’ll turn off his security clearance.” 

Kurogane, handy strong man that he was, leaned down and slung him over his shoulder, while Fai gestured. 

“My old office is this way.” Sakura paused, and looked at the elevator. 

“Too late,” she said, as the door began to open. 

“Run,” Kurogane snapped, pushing Fai and the kids ahead of him. 

The security team poured out of the elevator, three guys in uniforms and bulletproof vests, wielding stunning batons, and loaded guns. Things abruptly got much more dangerous. 

“Hey! Stop right there!” 

Sakura squeezed off two shots, hitting the ground near their feet. The team hadn’t expected to be fired on right away, but they quickly organized, returning fire, while Fai led the team into his old office. Someone else had moved into it, he could tell. Probably Kyle, he’d always coveted his office space, but the stainless steel and reinforced glass desk was the same. 

Kurogane dumped Kyle on the ground behind the desk, and then he and Fai tilted it up to make a shield, while Sakura guarded the door. They all dove behind it, catching their breath. 

Someone tried to come through the doorway, and Sakura rose up high enough to hit him in the arm, making him fall back, and clearing the entry for a moment. One man down, leaving two, but how long until they had back up? 

Fai leaned against the desk, pulling his legs back from Kyle’s limp body with distaste. 

“I didn’t realize this would be a gun fight,” Fai said, breathlessly. Then he chuckled. “Oops, Kuro-pon, I only brought knives.” 

“Shut up,” Kurogane said, glaring at the door, waiting for someone else to try their luck. 

Syaoran turned to Fai. 

“Fai-san, is there anywhere else to go from this room?” 

Fai shook his head. “There’s a storage closet, and a bathroom, but no, this is it. The window doesn’t even open.” Fai felt nerves clench his throat. “We should have stayed in the hall,” he gasped.

Syaoran was looking at the plans on his device, the schematics of the building holographic above it, as he zoomed and scrolled. “No, we’re okay. There’s a crawl space from the closet to the stairwell. If we can get from there to the elevators or the other staircase, we’ll be able to reach the top floor.” 

The top floor, where Ashura’s desk was. Fai swallowed. 

“Not the elevators,” Sakura said. “They’ll follow us too quickly, and I’m sure backup is coming.” 

Fai hummed, pulling his mind away from his fear. “If we set off the fire alarms, the elevators will all stop. We can block off the stairwell door.” 

Syaoran nodded, and straightened for a moment to lob something over towards the door. A quick beeping, and then Fai startled, covering his head when a loud _bang_ rattled the glass desk. Smoke and noise. Right. Those little bombs Syaoran had brought. 

The alarms already blaring took on a shriller pitch, and the sprinklers in the hallways and in the rooms began spraying down water. Their hair and office clothes quickly dampened, and Kyle began to stir in displeasure. Fai zapped him again. 

The security out front tried to shot a few more times into the room, and everyone ducked, before Kurogane and Sakura shot twice more and cleared the doorway again. 

“Let’s move,” Kurogane said, picking up Kyle again. 

“Hide him in the bathroom,” Fai said, “They won’t look there for a few minutes at least.” 

Kurogane nodded, and moved over, covered by Sakura. Syaoran moved over towards the closet, and Fai went to follow him, but he took one last look at his desk, at the internal mechanics that were sloughing off the water and keeping the computer safe. It was here that he’d designed and programmed the entirety of what they were here to destroy. He had the access, and he had the desk right in front of him, but…

He still hadn’t told the others that he was the pathetic, naive developer who’d come up with the whole idea. They had no idea that it was his work they were going to dismantle. And, the truth was, Fai could do it from here. There was no need to move forward, they’d just need to turn the desk, and cover him. But that would require admitting why his old desk could access it. 

“We’re moving,” Syaoran ordered, and Fai’s choice was taken away from him. He followed Kurogane (with Kyle safely stowed) and the others to the closet, where Syaoran had already opened the door. Kurogane stood as tall as he could to lift the ceiling tile up, and he didn’t have time to think anymore. Behind them, the remaining two security guards were running into the room, and Fai was relieved to see that they didn’t appear to have gotten any more back up. 

Fai whipped around, and threw two stunning dart, but only one hit the exposed neck. One dropped, but the other simply brushed the dart off his bullet proof vest. Kurogane then grabbed his arm. 

“Get up there!” he snapped, and Fai accepted the boost to climb up into the crawl space. Once he was up there, with Syaoran and Sakura ahead of him, he turned and reached down to help Kurogane. 

“Come on, Kuro-tan!” Fai shouted, and Kurogane grabbed his hand, reaching for the edge with the other. Fai felt the kids grab his shoulders, pulling together. His head and arms made it through, and then he jerked, grunting. He made it completely up, though, and took a bomb from Syaoran to drop down the hole. 

It went off too close and loud in the small space. 

Once the smoke that billowed up had cleared, and Fai could see again, he felt Kurogane on top of him, and the kids, sheltering them from the blast. He was breathing too fast, and Fai pushed him up to see that there was a smear of blood on his khaki pants. 

“You’re hurt!” he said, and Kurogane hissed, reaching back to poke at his lower calf. 

“It’s fine. Move.” Sakura at the front, nodded, eyes worried, and began crawling. Syaoran followed her. Fai bit his lip, pulling at his sweater to tie around the wound, but Kurogane shoved him. “Later. Go!” 

Fai felt sick, and so he crawled, trying not to think about it. 

“Now, Kuro-chan,” he said as they crawled. “Don’t stare at my butt, okay? These pants aren’t at all flattering.” He earned a snort, which made him feel a tiny bit better. 

They reached whatever point Syaoran was heading them towards, and Sakura carefully removed the panel. 

“It’s the stairwell. Looks like they didn’t expect us to go backwards.” 

Syaoran helped Sakura drop down, and then disappeared himself. Fai turned back to look at Kurogane, who was frowning but no more than usual. Fai couldn’t see his leg. 

“Get down there, you dumbass,” Kurogane said, and pushed Fai’s foot forward, and so Fai climbed over the hole, and dropped to a crouch. Kurogane came down after him, but stumbled on the landing, and Fai caught his arms to steady him. 

“You are hurt,” he said, and Kurogane pushed him away. 

“We’ll take care of it later,” he said, standing without trouble now. Fai could see the gash on his calf now, though, and his black pants were damp with blood. It wasn’t still dripping, so far as he could see, though, so perhaps Kurogane was right. 

The staircase to Ashura’s office was directly across the hall, and Fai abruptly felt like a child sneaking past a parent as they ran from one side to the other, while the remaining security person spoke on his wristwatch frantically inside the glass walls of Fai’s office. He didn’t see them in time, and Syaoran was able to pull the door open, and begin again to let them through the security checkpoints, but the ones coming out of the staircase certainly did. 

“Go, go, go!” Syaoran shouted, his fingers flying, while Sakura, Fai and Kurogane were let in one by one. The security men were running towards them, and Sakura shot again, and then tossed away her first gun, empty now of bullets. She pulled out another, and covered Syaoran while he let himself in, and closed the door. 

“We’ll cover here,” Sakura said. “Fai-san, go stop this!” 

Syaoran was working hard on his device, presumably locking the door, as people were shouting on the other side, and then Kurogane grabbed Fai’s arm, and pulled him up the stairs.

~

Kurogane followed Fai’s lead now; he knew the way to Ashura’s office, and he was moving quickly. Kurogane wasn’t sure how bad his leg had been hit, with the glancing gunshot while he was hanging from the ceiling, but it wasn’t enough to hinder him too badly, though the wet trousers slapping against it stung. The sprinklers were still coming down, and they were both soaked. 

Fai stopped, and slid open a glass door, before pausing in the doorway of a massive, beautifully decorated office space, complete with a desk, table and couch. It was supposed to be empty, but there was a man standing calmly behind the desk. The sprinklers and alarms were off in this room, and the man’s long black hair and fancy business suit were impeccable. 

Kurogane had to assume it was Ashura himself. This was his office, after all. Another clue was the fatherly smile that rose up on Ashura’s face when Fai stopped in the entryway. It was as fake as Fai’s got sometimes, and Kurogane saw where he’d gotten it. Kurogane stepped up, and around Fai to see his face, and he looked sick and still. 

“Ah, Fai, you finally made it back to me,” he said, and his voice was like oil, the kind that has rainbows on top, but would poison anything that touched it. He spread his arms, like he was expecting Fai would run forward for a hug. Fai didn’t, but he swallowed mightily, like he was holding back from crying or throwing up. 

Ashura dropped his arms, the smile never fading. 

“Well, we did leave off on a rather sour note last time, did we not?” 

Fai choked on a laugh. “You threatened to kill me. You almost did,” he rasped, and Kurogane stepped a tiny bit closer to him, drawing his gun and training it on Ashura’s head. Ashura smiled wider. 

“Yet here you stand, with what looks like a loyal friend at your side. Does he know all you did for me? Does he know that you’re the sole creator of the very thing you’re here to destroy?” 

Fai went paler, if that was possible, and he looked at Kurogane with wide eyes, fear behind them. Kurogane hadn’t known that specifically, but honestly it made sense. All his arguments about making the world a better place, that love could solve the world’s problems, and one could artificially assign people to each other, only pointed to the kind of dumb ideas that would cause someone to come up with it. It wasn’t Fai’s fault that Ashura had a greedy heart, who’d do anything for money. 

Kurogane knocked Fai on the head. 

“You think I’m worried about that? Snap out of it!” Fai was staring at him. “If you’re helping to stop it, I don’t care about what you’ve done. I told you that,” Kurogane said,

Fai blinked at him, and then his eyes filled with tears. “Kuro-tan…” 

He looked so touched, but now was not the time. Kurogane shook off Fai’s gratitude quickly, eyes on Ashura, who was smiling gleefully. 

“Well, well, a very loyal friend indeed. Yuui would be so proud.” 

Fai’s trembling lips snarled in anger. 

“Don’t talk about him!” 

Kurogane kept the gun up, and took in the situation. They needed to get to that computer - time was short, and they weren’t even close to done - and Ashura was standing exactly where Fai needed to be. Ashura was playing some sort of mind game on Fai, and that needed to stop right away. 

“But you do want to talk, don’t you Fai? You want to know the answer to one little question, don’t you?” 

Fai sucked in a breath, and Kurogane stepped forward. 

“Fai, don’t listen-” Kurogane started, and then white hot agony burst through his left shoulder, he spun around, his own gun flying, as a gunshot echoed through the room, and fell to the ground. He heard Fai scream. 

“No!” He fell to his knees beside Kurogane, as Kurogane grit his teeth, grabbing his arm and groaning. He processed that he’d been shot. Shot, as easy as that. He hadn’t even known that Ashura had a gun. He gulped a breath, and unsqueezed his eyes, looking at Fai. Fai had tears flowing down his face, and he was holding out his hand, shaking over his wound. He couldn’t speak to him, his throat would only open to a yell of pain, so he kept silent, while Fai turned around with a wordless scream, hurling a throwing knife towards him but missing Ashura by feet. Ashura didn’t even flinch.

“Why?” he panted. Ashura smiled. 

“That is the question, Fai.” 

Kurogane groaned, and got up on his good elbow, and Fai turned back to him, eyes wide and tear filled. 

“Kurogane,” he said shakily, holding out the sweater he’d been wearing. “You should lie still, you’re- you’re bleeding,” 

“I’m fine,” Kurogane bit out, grabbing Fai’s sweater and pressing it to his wound. It burned, but it was fading to the background. Ashura still had a gun, and he was pointing it at Fai. Ashura, who was grinning like a maniac - who was he talking about, this guy _was_ a maniac.

“Fai, you want know why? Why I took you boys in? Why I raised you, and taught you, and brought you to be where you were?” 

Fai sniffed, and looked at Ashura, his heart broken openly on his face. 

Ashura smiled and began. 

“You never knew your parents, not well, but they were mathematical geniuses. They were also my friends, and I was devastated when they died, leaving you two. You would have gone into the state foster system, and probably ended up somewhere nice enough, but… I admit, I cared enough to look into it. Turns out, I could keep you two with almost no trouble. I was already your godfather, per your parent’s will. 

“I was also interested in the potential of your brains. You were both smart children, you more so than Yuui, and I knew I could make something of you. Around the same time, this company was born, and I began work on the implant system. That was the first time I sold any plans, to the State government. The laws fell into place that made my designs required for every legitimate citizen, and I got much of the proceeds. However, I realized, as I designed more and more systems and applications, and passed the drive to do so to my protegé - you, Fai - that I could sell these designs for much more. The government had only gotten involved so far, but I wanted more. 

“Then, years ago now, you came to me with your idea. Your naive idea to matchmake your way to a better world. I saw the potential immediately, and began to seek out buyers while you worked night and day. Tomorrow, I’ll sell it, and there’s no way to stop it now.” 

Fai was breathing heavily, his hand on Kurogane’s chest, as if to keep feeling his heart beat. Kurogane was shaking with the wound, but glaring just as heavily at Ashura. 

“You used me,” Fai said, voice shaking. “Me and Yuui. And then when Yuui was more annoying than useful, you killed him.” 

Ashura smiled, sadly. “It was a shame, but he’d been moving that direction for a long time. I didn’t quite know how deep he was, or that he’d drag you into it, even after he died, but I guess you can’t plan for everything.” 

Lowering the gun a bit, Ashura tapped a few buttons on his desk, probably calling security. Kurogane was ready. He’d dropped his gun when he got shot, it was too far away now, but inside the balled up sweater against his wound, he could feel the sharp tips of Fai’s remaining stun darts. He wasn’t as good, especially from the ground, while wounded, but he thought he could make it across the desk between them. 

Kurogane pulled one out, and lobbed it at Ashura’s torso. They should be able to penetrate that thin silk shirt, and sure enough it stuck. Ashura started, and looked down at it, before staggering as the stunning shock blocked out his nervous system. He fell to the ground, and Fai gaped, as Kurogane dragged himself up. His arm was killing him, but they had to hurry. 

“C’mon,” he growled, catching himself on the desk, and looking at Ashura’s limp body. “We don’t have much time.” 

Fai gaped, and then hurried up, nodding. He gingerly walked around Ashura, and then began tapping at the computer desktop, while Kurogane knocked away Ashura’s gun, a tiny pistol he probably had carried on him since he got mixed up in all the crap he did, and wished he could tie him up. 

“How’s your arm?” Fai asked without looking up, and Kurogane pressed the sweater harder, wincing but not making a sound. 

“Fine, keep going. This part’s all you.” 

Fai gulped in a breath, and pulled out the watch they’d stolen from Kyle. 

“I hope they didn’t already find him, and turn off his security privileges,” Fai said, breathless. Kurogane watched as the desk screen lit up, and lines of code filled it. 

“It work?” Kurogane asked, and Fai nodded. 

“Okay,” he breathed. “Here’s the part where I destroy my entire life’s work… sorry about lying about that,” he said. 

“As long as you destroy it, I don’t care,” Kurogane said, trying not to wince. He was still bleeding, and that arm was pretty useless. _He_ was pretty useless, to be honest. He was standing only with the aid of the desk against his hip, and his head was beginning to spin. 

“I’m hurrying, Kuro-sama. Hold on,” Fai murmured, and his fingers were tapping so quickly it sounded like rain. “Almost done…” 

“Stop it.”

Kurogane’s attention had slipped. Ashura was stronger than he’d thought, and had shaken off the stun dart, and Kurogane felt a foot kick out his knee, sending him crashing to the ground. His vision went black for a moment, and then Ashura’s arm was around his throat, holding him against his chest where he was kneeling on the ground. Kurogane woke fully, and struggled, but froze when he felt Ashura’s fingers dig into his bullet wound. 

“Argh!” he yelled, and Fai, who’d frozen, who was staring, wide eyed from behind the glass desk, jerked forward. 

“Kuro-”

“Don’t!” Ashura said. He didn’t have a weapon, he didn’t have a weapon. Ashura’s pea shooter was yards away, he’d kicked it, and the stun dart didn’t work more than once. But Fai had thrown a knife as well, and Kurogane felt the cold tip of that blade against his throat. 

“Fai,” Kurogane said, regaining control of his voice. “Finish it, Fai. Do it!” 

“I’ll kill him, Fai. You care about him, I can see you! You replaced Yuui so fast, didn’t you?” Ashura’s voice was only calm on the surface, Kurogane could hear the tension, the desperation as Ashura spoke so close to his ear. 

Fai was gasping, almost sobbing, as he watched the two of them. His hands had stopped, and he was just staring. Just frozen. 

“Kuro-” he shuddered, as Ashura pushed the tip of Fai’s knife closer, and Kurogane felt a stream of wet warmth run down his neck. 

“Fai,” Kurogane gasped. “Don’t worry about me. Do what we came for.” 

~

Fai met Kurogane’s gaze, dragging his eyes away from Ashura’s, and Kurogane held his eyes. It was like he was trying to promise that they’d get out of this, sending reassurance even while he was bleeding on the floor with a knife to his throat. Fai swallowed, and looked at him, this man who saw too much, and didn’t change when the lies came out, who he trusted more than he’d ever trusted before, with littler reason. Who pushed him, and prodded him, and made him make choices he couldn’t have contemplated before he met him. Kurogane asked him what he believed in, what was important, and what was he going to do about that. Kurogane was asking him to trust in him, and Fai couldn’t help it.

Fai nodded, minutely, and then looked down and pressed the final sequence of buttons. The screen changed completely, converting all readable text to a strange, jumbled code, that one person on the planet could read. It would take weeks if not longer for any codebreakers to crack that. 

Ashura watched him press the final button, and then screamed, his eyes wide and crazed. Fai had never seen him like this. He lifted up the knife, ready to plunge it into Kurogane’s neck, but Fai and Kurogane moved simultaneously: Kurogane rolling away, and Fai pulling out another one of his knifes, and throwing it, the way he’d practiced, and calmer than before. He didn’t want to hit Kurogane. It still wasn’t quite the same as a dart, and he was sure his form was terrible, but he saw blood. Ashura yelped, and crashed to the ground, clutching his cheek, where Fai had made a long gash. Ashura was lucky he hadn’t hit his eye. 

Kurogane came up on one knee, with his gun in his working hand, and blood dripping down the other, holding the sight steady on Ashura’s quivering form. 

“Don’t move,” he growled, and Fai had never felt so glad. 

Ashura was panting, glaring at them, and Fai trembled as he pulled out a stunning dart, his last one, and pressed it against Ashura’s neck. Ashura jolted, and passed out again, probably hitting his head quite hard on the ground. 

Fai let out a breath, and ran to Kurogane, putting his arm around him, as Kurogane slowly let down the gun, breathing heavily now the danger was passed. Sort of. They were still in the building, after all, and he could still hear the fire alarms going off, though they’d been turned off in here. 

“Kurogane,” he said, breathless, and Kurogane flinched away from him a bit. Fai frowned, and then softened. “Kuro-tan, you were so cool!” 

Kurogane huffed, and lifted his arm to press against the wound. It was still bleeding, and Fai set to work tieing the sweater more firmly around it. He was finishing the tie, when Kurogane put his hand over his, blood staining the back. 

“You did it,” he said, meeting his gaze proudly. 

Fai smiled. “All done. The program is unusable until someone breaks that code. Now, we should find the kids and get out of here.” 

“Yeah,” 

Just then, Sakura and Syaoran skidded into the room, taking in the scene quickly. Sakura’s eyes widened, and she ran over to them, before she looked at Ashura. 

“Kurogane-san, are you alright?” she asked, and he nodded, using Fai’s shoulder to stand up. Fai supported him, while Syaoran checked them all over, and then ran to the window. 

“They broke through the door downstairs. I left a bomb, but it’s only a matter of time before they make it through the mess. The Mokona is meeting us at the rendezvous point in one minute.”

“The rendezvous point?” 

Syaoran kicked open the window, and pointed towards the edge of the roof. Sakura jammed the door to the hallway shut with the cushy couch in front of it, and then came over to lead them to the window. Kurogane stepped in time with Fai, following the kids out to the roof. The wind was blowing out there, but at least no one was shooting at them yet. 

A white craft, with red highlights hovered in the space next to the roof. The driver waved merrily from the drivers seat. 

Fai, holding Kurogane’s arm across his shoulders, stalled for a moment as they came through the window. 

“We have a ride?” he asked, and he felt Kurogane’s ribs contract with a laugh. 

“Yuuko covers her bases,” he said, and Fai, as they flew away from the building under the nose of the converging security team, had to agree. 

~

Kurogane didn’t wake for a while after his treatment, but that was okay, because Fai wanted to think. He sat by his bedside, back in the lower city, in the safe house shop, and watched Kurogane breathe. He looked much better, his color was coming back, and the lines of pain had left his eyes and from around his mouth. The doctor who’d treated him was someone discreet, but who didn’t really want to be involved, hence why Kurogane did the extractions, but he couldn’t refuse when Soel, the driver of the Mokona landed them on his lawn with a bleeding man half unconscious in the back seat. 

They hadn’t exactly won the day, though they did accomplish what they’d set out to do. Project Soulmate wouldn’t work tomorrow (well, he supposed it was today, given that the sun was rising), and the sale would not go through. How long that would last, Fai didn’t know, and since Ashura was still in charge at the company, he could get someone else to create it, even if it wouldn’t be exact. The world was still a mess, and Tomoyo’s and Yuuko’s group had plenty to do. 

As for if Fai would help them, well, he hadn’t quite made his decision yet. 

Kurogane stirred, and moved his head a little, but didn’t wake quite yet. He’d been doing that for the past ten minutes, trying to decide if he wanted to return to the land of the living. Fai had deemed it safe, after the third time he’d just barely mumbled, to brush his fingers lightly over Kurogane’s hair, so he moved the few strands that had fallen down over his forehead

Of course, Kurogane would pick that moment to open his eyes, hazy crimson-brown looking up at him. 

Fai pulled his hand back a little, smiling. “Ah, Kuro-tan, you’re awake finally?” 

Kurogane humphed, and shifted a little more upright against his pillows, until Fai put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. 

“Careful, you had quite a wound,” Fai whispered, and Kurogane nodded slightly. 

“I can tell,” he rasped.

“You’ll be able to have a little more pain medication in about half an hour, but I could maybe get you some before that...” Fai said, worried a little, but Kurogane shook his head. 

“I’m fine until then,” he said, shifting upwards again and managing to look at Fai in the eyes. “I take it we escaped?” 

Fai nodded. “Oh yes. Yuuko-san’s driver swooped in and saved the day. She also insisted on getting your wound treated, which was good because you were unconscious by that point-” Which had been scary. Fai remembered sitting in the craft, holding only his used-to-be-gray sweater against Kurogane’s shoulder, blood staining his hands, and panic pounding his heart. He’d been distraught, overwhelmed, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from sobbing against Kurogane’s shoulder, pressing down, and getting blood on his face. He wondered now why Kurogane’s blood made him so afraid.

Kurogane looked at him. “Are you alright?” 

Fai blinked. “Me? Yes, of course I am-” he said, but his voice faltered as Kurogane’s eyes held his. “I- Why aren’t you mad at me?” 

Kurogane didn’t answer, silence drawing words from Fai that he’d never spoken before. “I’ve been awful to you these past few weeks, and I was lying to you the whole time. I created Project Soulmate, it was _mine_ , and everyone was saying it was so evil, but I didn’t mean for that. I could have dismantled it from my desk, when we were trapped in the office, and then you wouldn’t have gotten shot!”

Kurogane was looking at him. “Why did you make the project?” he asked, firmly, and Fai sighed. 

“I wanted to…” he thought back to himself, and how he’d been. He had Yuui, he’d had Ashura, but no one else. Light friends, people to go to the company parties with, but no one close. Most relationships had been superficial, and he was realizing he’d been so lonely. “I wanted to help people find each other. To not be lonely.” 

“The way you were?” 

Fai nodded. 

“That’s not a bad thing, you idiot. You wanted to help people,” Kurogane said, folding his arms. “But finding each other that way can’t happen with just data points and matching profiles.” 

Fai smiled again, softly. He moved his hand forward, until it was brushing Kurogane’s. “I know that now. Finding someone is entirely spontaneous, and doesn’t really make any sense…” 

Fai was looking at this man, and finally figuring out why the thought of losing Kurogane made him nearly break down, and not accomplish what they’d set out to do. Why all he wanted to do since they got out of there was sit by his side, and wish for his eyes to open. 

Kurogane turned, and held his eyes, and there was understanding there. 

“You got that right. No sense at all,” Kurogane said grumpily. His face was turning red, and Fai thought it was adorable. Fai took in a breath, and made his decision. 

“I don’t know what’s happening after this. Ashura still has his company, and he’ll probably come after me. Your organization still has plenty of goals to accomplish, and the world is still pretty broken, but… I’d like to keep helping, if that’s alright with you, Kuro-tan?” 

Kurogane looked at him, angry relief on his face. Well, it seemed like every emotion of his was tinged or covered up with anger. 

“You dumbass,” Kurogane grumbled, and his tanned fingers moved from his bed to thread through Fai’s. “You don’t have to be lonely anymore, okay?” Fai felt a bubble of happiness rise up in his chest, so full it could burst. He took a breath, and squeezed. 

“You either,” Fai breathed. Then he laughed. “A computer would never have told me that I belong here, but… Kuro-chan, can I stay with you?” 

“For god’s sake, come here,” Kurogane said, tugging on his hand. Fai moved forward, and pressed his lips to Kurogane’s, like the way he’d done before, but Kurogane responded happily this time. Fai gently brushed his hand down Kurogane’s face, and Kurogane held his hand, kissing slowly, mindful of his wounded shoulder. It was lovely. 

When Fai pulled back, he was blushing too, and that bubble in his chest was choking him. He could only smile, a true happy smile that Kurogane returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the idea for this from reading an article about the Apple Watch, combined with the words 'artificial soulmates' from my roommate Rémy (username-goes-here most places) when I was beginning to plot. I also owe her much for beta-ing, and telling me when things didn't make sense (as happened a lot) and forever checking my spellling. Thank you darling!


End file.
